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Is there even one use case where a humanoid robot has proven to be the best solution? To illustrate the point I would bet money that a laundry folding machine t
by Zigurd 1y ago
Is there even one use case where a humanoid robot has proven to be the best solution? To illustrate the point I would bet money that a laundry folding machine that only folds laundry better, faster, and cheaper will be the best solution for that use case. Lawn mowing? Another robot. Floor cleaning? Done and dusted. If there is a task with enough value to automate, a specialized robot will win that market.
- hollerith 1y agoThe advantage of the humanoid robot is compatibility with a built environment tailored for humans.
- Zigurd 1y agoLike sitting in the driver's seat of a non-automated car and being a chauffeur? There are one and a half billion non-automated vehicles out there. An obviously gigantic market. And yet I'm pretty sure everyone can see that a humanoid robot driving a car is a ridiculous use case.
- jfengel 1y agoThe case I have in mind: cleaning hotel rooms. Build me a robot that can clean the toilet, change the sheets, replace the soap, check the mini-fridge, and do it all without breaking people's stuff scattered around the room. This is minimum-wage work which probably costs you $30,000 a year (including taxes, benefits, etc.) A $100,000 robot would replace that cost in just over three years -- one year, if it could work 24 hours a day instead of 8. That seems a huge ask. The tasks are all simple, but currently require AI-complete levels of perception, especially if combined into one machine. I doubt that a specialized robot -- or a series of them -- is likely to be cost-effective. Currently, they don't even use roombas.