Why Everybody is Talking About Robots
From ocean-exploration to social companions, new developments in embodied AI are going to transform our lives in unprecedented ways
This article is co-authored by Niamh Kingsley (Niamh Kingsley) and Lars Müller (Lars Mueller) and reflects our own personal opinions.
The Rise of Robotics
Robotics is not a new field of science and technology, but it has gained tremendous momentum in the past decade. Thanks to advances in artificial intelligence (AI), computer vision, sensors, and materials, robots have become more capable, versatile, and affordable than ever before. They can now perform tasks that were once considered impossible or too dangerous for humans, such as exploring the depths of the ocean, defusing bombs, or assisting in surgery.
According to the latest insights from the International Federation of Robotics (IFR), the industrial robot market demonstrated significant growth, reaching a valuation of approximately $14.9 billion in 2022. This market is projected to continue its upward trajectory, aiming to hit $30.5 billion by 2030, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.57% from 2022 to 2030.
The service robotics market has also demonstrated robust expansion, and is projected to grow by 4.64% (2024–2028), resulting in a market volume of $34.69 billion by 2028. The IFR’s World Robotics 2023 report further highlights the ongoing global growth in robot installations, with 553,052 industrial robots installed in 2022, indicating a 5% growth year-on-year. This growth is expected to continue, with projections suggesting the industrial robot market will expand by 7% to more than 590,000 units worldwide in 2023.
You may have heard of some more mainstream robots, but probably aren’t aware of the breadth of technology that already exists. You’ve probably seen videos showing off Tesla’s Optimus robot — a bipedal that can lift 20kg and is already deployed in warehouse automation — or Atlas or Spot from Boston Dynamics.
However, in the past two weeks, people have been particularly fixated on Figure’s Figure 01 humanoid, which at 5’6” is the world’ first commercially viable autonomous humanoid robot. More on that later.
The Societal Context
It’s important to understand that there is a distinction between workflows that can be replaced by robots, and those that can be enhanced.
For example, tasks and industries that are most likely to transition from requiring human intervention to being actioned solely by robots are those that are repetitive, tedious, dangerous, or require high precision and accuracy. Manufacturing, agriculture, mining, logistics, and cleaning are some of the domains where robots can perform better, faster, and cheaper than humans, reducing labour costs and increasing productivity and safety.
On the other hand, tasks and industries that are most likely to see human activities enhanced by robots are those that involve creativity, problem-solving, communication, and collaboration. For example, education, health care, and entertainment are some of the domains where robots can augment human capabilities, providing assistance, guidance, feedback, and inspiration. In these cases, humans will still have the primary role and responsibility, but robots will act as partners, companions, or mentors.
In the second domain, it’s not just about what the robot does, it’s equally about how it does it. This is why we are increasingly seeing investment in robots that are humanoid.
So, Why Humanoid Robots?
Figure describe this quite eloquently as the “human form factor”, and the answer is straightforward: if you want to deploy robots more generally in society, then they need to be able to participate in a world designed for humans. That includes using handles on doors, stairs, pressing buttons. When we make robots intelligent (we call this “embodied AI”, more on that shortly), their value is in how they expand human capabilities, not replace them.
One early example of this is Sophia, developed by Hanson Robotics. Sophia is designed to look and act like a human, with facial expressions, natural language processing, and social skills. Sophia has been granted citizenship by Saudi Arabia in 2017 (we had to fact-check this!), appeared on various TV shows and magazines, and even addressed the United Nations. Sophia’s creator, David Hanson, hopes that she can help improve human-robot relations and promote empathy and compassion for machines.
There is another important distinction to make here: the difference between a robot that is humanoid, and a machine that is programmed to be more human-like. In the latter instance, it’s increasingly important to ensure that we build for desirable qualities, and have suitable guard-rails in place when it comes to exponential intelligence (hello, Roko’s Basilisk).
Embodied AI & the Latest Breakthroughs in Robotics
The past month has witnessed some remarkable breakthroughs in intelligent robotics. We call this field “embodied AI”: the aim of creating robots that can perceive, learn, reason, and act autonomously in dynamic and uncertain environments. The concept of embodied AI originates from the idea that intelligence is not only a product of abstract computation, but also a result of sensorimotor coordination and embodiment. By building robots that can sense and manipulate their surroundings, we can better understand the principles of natural intelligence and create more capable and adaptable machines.
The pace of engineering in this space is made possible largely because of NVIDIA, the leading company in graphics processing units (GPUs) and AI hardware. They held their annual GPU Technology Conference (GTC) last week, and showcased their latest contributions to AI, graphics and robotics. Among the announcements were:
- The introduction of the NVIDIA Omniverse Platform, a comprehensive simulation and collaboration environment that allows for the creation and testing of virtual scenarios and robotics. The platform integrates NVIDIA’s advanced RTX raytracing and PhysX physics engine for realistic simulations.
- The unveiling of the NVIDIA Jetson AGX Xavier 2, an embedded system designed for edge AI and robotics. This system is tailored for autonomous machines that require robust computing capabilities on the edge, and with just 20 watts of power for major AI performance.
- The NVIDIA Isaac SDK 2024.1, a software development kit that provides a comprehensive set of tools and libraries for building and deploying intelligent robots. This includes a suite of algorithms and modules for robot navigation and path planning; for robot perception, such as object detection, segmentation, and pose estimation; and for robot manipulation, such as grasping, pick-and-place, and force control.
In parallel, Figure — a Boston-based robotics company — launched their flagship product, Figure 01. If you’ve not seen the video, you need to. It’s capable of performing a variety of tasks around the house, such as cleaning, organising, monitoring, and entertaining.
One of the most impressive features of Figure 01 is its ability to learn from human demonstrations and feedback. By using a combination of advanced comprehension, reinforcement learning, and self-supervised learning, the robot can acquire new skills and improve its existing ones. The robot can also ask for help or clarification when it is unsure or makes a mistake and adapt its behaviour accordingly. This way, the robot can personalise its services to the preferences and needs of each user.
The impact of robotics on society and economy will depend on how humans and robots interact and co-exist. This will require addressing ethical, legal, and social issues (such as privacy, security, accountability, trust, and fairness). Moreover, the widespread and safe integration of robotics into our everyday lives will require educating and training people to adapt to the changing environment and to acquire new skills and competencies.
The Future of Robotics
The recent developments in robotics indicate that we are entering a new era of human-robot interaction, where robots will play an increasingly important role in our personal and professional lives. However, this also raises some challenges and questions, such as:
- How can we ensure that robots are safe, reliable, and trustworthy?
- How can we balance the benefits and risks of robotics for society and the environment?
- How can we foster ethical, legal, and social norms and standards for robotics?
- How do we overcome the “greenfield” vs. “brownfield” dilemma?
- How can we promote human dignity, rights, and values in the design and use of robots?
- How can we prepare for the impact of robotics on the economy, the labour market, and the education system?
These are some of the issues that need to be addressed by policymakers, regulators, researchers, developers, and users of robotics, to ensure that robotics is used in a way that is beneficial, responsible, and sustainable for all.
The conversation about robotics is more relevant than ever as we stand on the brink of a technology revolution that promises to reshape our world. From enhancing productivity across industries to confronting ethical dilemmas, the rise of robotics encapsulates the reality of facing desired and undesired outcomes.
As we navigate this evolving landscape, it becomes clear that the future of robotics is not just about the machines themselves but about how we, as a society, choose to integrate, interact and utilise them in our lives.
We hope you enjoyed this overview of the robotics space. This article is co-authored by Niamh Kingsley (Niamh Kingsley) and Lars Müller (Lars Mueller). Between us, our other work covers neuroscience, artificial intelligence (AI), distributed ledger technology (DLT) and innovations in the post-digital world.
You might like to check out some of our previous research, or follow our weekly updates on LinkedIn.
