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But the question is, why build a humanoid robot? It's much harder to balance (especially if it should be extendable with modules), probably won't be able to han

But the question is, why build a humanoid robot? It's much harder to balance (especially if it should be extendable with modules), probably won't be able to handle harsher terrain than four-legged models in the foreseeable future, and I don't see how they can do tasks significantly better than a simpler model with a few robot arms. The stature isn't the main reason for the versatility of humans. I guess humanoid robots would be useful in situations where familiarity is important, but Tesla probably wants more than just a premium customer greeter with integrated voice assistant.

scoopertrooper 5y ago
Our indoor environments are built for humans. For instance, robots with wheels would struggle with stairs. Short robots would have trouble reaching up and grabbing things from shelves. Wide robots would struggle to get down narrow hallways.
- alpaca128 5y ago
  The four-legged Boston Dynamics robot can walk up/down stairs, is pretty slim and has a robot arm able to reach a bit higher. And there's still a lot of room for improvement. Even humans can't always reach the highest shelves without a ladder. I'd like to see a humanoid robot successfully climb one up and down while holding an object; that alone would be an insane achievement. A good humanoid robot costs a ton, to a point where I doubt it'll see much use in normal households. I'd love to be wrong in that aspect, but I haven't yet seen an affordable robot beyond hobby project standards. Imho a humanoid body would be a nice bonus once everything else is working reliably and there's enough demand, not what I'd start out with.
  - scoopertrooper 5y ago
    Fair points. However, I think the biggest problem with a short robot would be people tripping over it. Even if it had a big 'ol arm sticking out like a robotic giraffe, it'd be hard to gauge the dimensions of the base, especially given it may not be clear what direction it is facing if the arm can reticulate about as it pleases. So, a robot in a human environment must be about human height and width, but also its width should be roughly uniform from top to bottom like a human. I suppose you could build a quadruped of those dimensions, but it's hard to imagine what it'd look like. I am not aware of any creatures like that occurring in nature, likely with good reason.
    - MauranKilom 5y ago
      > However, I think the biggest problem with a short robot would be people tripping over it. Somehow that has not turned out to be a major problem with the closest thing we already have in widespread "use": Dogs. I think we can agree that humans are pretty good at not stepping on a retriever-sized thing by accident. Not to mention that these robots will probably not be very quiet (servos can be pretty noisy). So if that's the biggest problem, we'd be in pretty good shape.
- throw0101a 5y ago
  > For instance, robots with wheels would struggle with stairs. Just ask the Daleks.
regularfry 5y ago
The reason you want humanoid robots is because environments that have humans in them are generally built around human ergonomics.
rlt 5y ago
> why build a humanoid robot? For one, humanoid robots are a bit less creepy than the alternatives. Have you seen the BD robots? That’s not as important for industrial use, though.

scoopertrooper 5y ago

Our indoor environments are built for humans. For instance, robots with wheels would struggle with stairs. Short robots would have trouble reaching up and grabbing things from shelves. Wide robots would struggle to get down narrow hallways.

alpaca128 5y ago
The four-legged Boston Dynamics robot can walk up/down stairs, is pretty slim and has a robot arm able to reach a bit higher. And there's still a lot of room for improvement. Even humans can't always reach the highest shelves without a ladder. I'd like to see a humanoid robot successfully climb one up and down while holding an object; that alone would be an insane achievement. A good humanoid robot costs a ton, to a point where I doubt it'll see much use in normal households. I'd love to be wrong in that aspect, but I haven't yet seen an affordable robot beyond hobby project standards. Imho a humanoid body would be a nice bonus once everything else is working reliably and there's enough demand, not what I'd start out with.
- scoopertrooper 5y ago
  Fair points. However, I think the biggest problem with a short robot would be people tripping over it. Even if it had a big 'ol arm sticking out like a robotic giraffe, it'd be hard to gauge the dimensions of the base, especially given it may not be clear what direction it is facing if the arm can reticulate about as it pleases. So, a robot in a human environment must be about human height and width, but also its width should be roughly uniform from top to bottom like a human. I suppose you could build a quadruped of those dimensions, but it's hard to imagine what it'd look like. I am not aware of any creatures like that occurring in nature, likely with good reason.
  - MauranKilom 5y ago
    > However, I think the biggest problem with a short robot would be people tripping over it. Somehow that has not turned out to be a major problem with the closest thing we already have in widespread "use": Dogs. I think we can agree that humans are pretty good at not stepping on a retriever-sized thing by accident. Not to mention that these robots will probably not be very quiet (servos can be pretty noisy). So if that's the biggest problem, we'd be in pretty good shape.
throw0101a 5y ago
> For instance, robots with wheels would struggle with stairs. Just ask the Daleks.

regularfry 5y ago

The reason you want humanoid robots is because environments that have humans in them are generally built around human ergonomics.

rlt 5y ago

> why build a humanoid robot? For one, humanoid robots are a bit less creepy than the alternatives. Have you seen the BD robots? That’s not as important for industrial use, though.