Humanoid robots—this cyberpunk-esque ultimate human fantasy—are emerging from the laboratory and gradually moving into the market. Embodied intelligent robots capable of autonomous thinking, decision-making, and action are considered the best application scenario for large-scale models, and solving labor shortages for businesses with humanoid robots seems feasible. Why are people so enthusiastic about humanoid robots? Some researchers believe it's driven by both cultural factors and technological advancements. Today, let's explore the story of humanoid robots.
A Brief History of the Development of Humanoid Robots
Looking back at the development of humanoid robots, in the fourth century BC, the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle imagined the uses of robots; during the Three Kingdoms period, Zhuge Liang successfully created the "wooden ox and flowing horse" to transport military supplies, all of which laid the groundwork for the development of robots.
Over the next few centuries, robots gradually became more anthropomorphic and personified, and like Darwin's origin of species, humanoid robots gradually evolved.
Renaissance
In his manuscripts, the Italian painter and scientist Leonardo da Vinci depicted the first humanoid robot in the Western civilized world, giving it a shell of wood, leather, and metal. Through a drive mechanism, the robot could wave its arms and sit or stand.
1920
Czech writer Karel Capek wrote the Czech word "Robota" as "Robot" in his science fiction play "Rossam's Omnipotent Robot," which is considered the origin of the word "robot."
1927
Westinghouse engineer Winsley built the first robot, "Televox," which was equipped with a radio transmitter, but this robot could not move.
1963
NASA spent $175,000 to create two "Power Driven Articulated Dummy (PDAD)" robots that can simulate 35 basic human movements to help engineers improve spacesuits.
1967
Under the leadership of Ichiro Kato, the "father of humanoid robots," Waseda University launched a humanoid robot project and developed the world's first full-size humanoid intelligent robot, WABOT-1, in 1972. It was able to perform tasks such as carrying objects, just like a one-and-a-half-year-old baby.
1986
Honda developed the bipedal robot EO, and subsequently launched the bipedal robot E series and the humanoid robot P series.
2000
The P4 humanoid robot—also known as ASIMO (Asimov)—was developed.
Humanoid robot that can't stand up straight
In 2021, Tesla's "mechanical dance" at AI Day successfully drew attention to the Tesla Bot (Tesla's humanoid bipedal robot). Musk posted, "We've made a robot on wheels (Tesla cars), so now we have almost all the parts we need to make a humanoid robot."
The introduction of Tesla Bot triggered a "whirlwind" in the domestic humanoid robot market. This is because cars and humanoid robots share some similarities; for example, both are equipped with cameras. Cars use the collected data for AI training, which then powers the vehicles. Similarly, humanoid robots collect data from daily life, which in turn influences their development. Therefore, automakers have become the primary players in the humanoid robot market. For instance, Xiaomi released CyberOne (Tieda) in 2022, and XPeng Motors released its first humanoid robot, PX5, in 2023.
Furthermore, an increasing number of technology companies are entering the humanoid robot market. Why make humanoid robots?
Chen Li, co-founder of Unitree Robotics, stated that this move was in line with current trends. On one hand, the underlying technical architecture and knowledge base of humanoid robots and quadruped robots are very similar. Unitree has consistently been among the world's leading companies in the quadruped robot dog field, making it much easier to develop humanoid robots from quadrupeds. On the other hand, there is the underlying driving force. Last year, general artificial intelligence and large-scale models developed rapidly, which is a milestone for the advancement of future technologies. As the PC and smart terminal markets gradually become saturated, general-purpose humanoid robots will become the best platform for the implementation of general artificial intelligence in the future.
Chen Li further explained that in the era of large-scale AI models, humanoid robots, enhanced by imitation learning and reinforcement learning, will be more versatile than traditional collaborative robots. "Humanoid robots can meet the human world's demand for general-purpose robots."
Therefore, with the turning of the gears of technology, humanoid robots have become a new breakthrough and a new carrier.
Throughout its development, humanoid robots have strived to achieve breakthroughs in "human-like features." Although some humanoid robots can be so realistic when dressed that they are indistinguishable from real humans, a closer look reveals that almost all humanoid robots have bent knees.
Robots' legs aren't incapable of straightening, but straightening them inevitably leads to two issues: first, the ankles can only move in an arc with a radius equal to the leg length, reducing the joint's reach; second, while the knees have extremely poor load-bearing capacity perpendicular to the leg, their load-bearing capacity along the leg direction increases dramatically. In simpler terms, it's what we commonly call "the knees not bending." This posture might seem comical on a human, but it's a very challenging problem for robots.
From a robot motion control perspective, walking with bent knees offers better motion control compared to walking with straight knees. When facing uneven surfaces, robots using this walking method still have room for their legs to straighten, ensuring stability and balance during walking. Furthermore, robots using this method have a lower and more stable center of gravity, further enhancing their balance control capabilities.
Therefore, the bent knee design ensures that the robot's posture is non-singular, thereby optimizing its control performance. During walking, this design also helps the robot maintain a more stable gait, improving its motion performance.
Currently popular humanoid robots include Unitree Robotics' Unitree H1, which is the first full-size general-purpose humanoid robot in China that can run. It has a stable gait and highly flexible movement capabilities, enabling it to walk and run autonomously in complex terrains and environments. It can also perform backflips and jumps. The humanoid robot developed by MIT can perform complex movements such as jumping and backflips.
How long can a humanoid robot walk?
Will 2024 be the year of humanoid robots?
In response, Chen Li frankly stated: "If we define it by whether it's startups or large companies participating in the humanoid robot field, then 2024 is fine as the first year. However, if we use the application of humanoid robots as the standard, then 2024 as the first year is still debatable, because the application of humanoid robots is not that fast."
According to the International Federation of Robotics, the global humanoid robot market is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 71% from 2021 to 2030. Data from the China Electronics Society shows that my country's humanoid robot market is expected to reach 870 billion yuan by 2030.
However, whether the established goals can be achieved depends on finding "payers" for humanoid robots. In addition, as a high-barrier industry, humanoid robots urgently need to solve the problems of core technology, cost reduction, and temporary talent shortage.
In response to the potential surge of new entrants, Chen Li said, "All products go through a phase where many companies enter the market when the time is right, creating a diverse and competitive landscape. Humanoid robots are no exception, but this is a good thing. It can foster sufficient competition and better promote product development, product definition, product promotion, and sales."
With the continued boom in the industry, a series of humanoid robot exchange conferences have been held recently, indicating that humanoid robots are at a critical juncture in their transition from the laboratory to the market. Domestic and international industry giants are increasing their investment, continuously breaking through technological barriers, and expanding application scenarios. We have every reason to believe that, looking to the future, humanoid robots will profoundly change human life and production methods, propelling social productivity to a new level.
