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NVIDIA launched their new artificial general robotics project on March 18th and are now joining the trendy humanoid robots -race. What is the difference between industrial and humanoid robot, who is building them now and will precious human labor be ever needed again?
Mannerism of a human and the capability to perform tasks like a human. The pure talent of sensing objects, moving and manipulating them and forming conversations with a spontaneous 'uh' in between the words when told so. Being able to do physically everything that a real human is capable of without having to eat, sleep or whine about long working hours. They are already replacing massive amounts of workforce in industries like automotive and logistics. And getting famous - like Tesla's AI-powered robot prototype Optimus. Humanoid robots are here, in use, and ready to disrupt the concept of what we know as human labor.
Robotic arms get the work done
Industrial robots are advanced machines that are programmed to fulfill repetitive tasks. They have already been well-implemented and adapted in different industries that require consistency or are either dangerous or time-consuming for a human to perform. Industrial robots usually take the shape of an arm that can, for example assembly car parts, paint or pack orders. Automation is a key part of advancing technology and can save a company a lot of money and time. Humanoid robots, however, are still a fairly new technology.
Warehouse industrial robots
getting their daily steps in
Driver for dystopian movie plots?
The appearance of a humanoid robot is made to support its purpose - to interact with humans. Highly advanced technology can be intimidating for the general public. For a concept like humanoid (a concept that has been the driver for centuries-long horror story scenarios and movie plots) the transition can be made a bit easier to adapt when the technology is made to imitate something humans are already familiar with - themselves.
From domestic help to full industrial automation, humanoid robots can be used for lots of things. Like mentioned, they are perfect for tedious and repetitive tasks and optimally will diffuse issues like labor shortages in the future. It is easier for humans to adopt something that reminds them of what they know; Similar mannerism and speech to a human's is important in situations, like in customer service, where a real human interacts with a humanoid robot and expects the same result from them as they would from a peer.
Humanoid robots could perform almost identically to humans and therefore open doors for innovation for companies and even entire industries.
Whose humanoid robot is taking the world over first?
The world-leader in AI computing and GPU (the small part of your computer that processes data) designer-supplier NVIDIA announced this week about their new project: Robot-powering model called GR00T to drive breakthroughs in embodied AI. Simply put, NVIDIA is adding their bit to the humanoid robot -race as well as OpenAI developing Figure 01, their prototype of a humanoid robot. Tesla's prototype also deserves mentioning when talking about robotics: Elon Musk courageously claims Optimus will start shipping next year.
Tesla's Optimus Gen 2 was released in December 2023 with increased walking
speed and stability so that it will not "fall flat on its face" (Elon Musk)
What is next?
Are humans soon moved to merely supervisory roles in workplaces now that tasks that once upon a time only a human could do can be performed by robots? Or will humans even be needed in the future? Of course they are. Jobs replaced by new technology will always create new opportunities. Nonetheless, big shift is happening in the society with advancing embodied AI. Humans need to mentally prepare for what comes next and do what they do best - adapt to change.
Sanni S
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