{"id":642794,"date":"2024-10-28T12:00:24","date_gmt":"2024-10-28T09:00:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/robot-developers-keep-making-it-seem-like-housebots-are-imminent-when-theyre-decades-away\/"},"modified":"2024-10-28T12:00:24","modified_gmt":"2024-10-28T09:00:24","slug":"robot-developers-keep-making-it-seem-like-housebots-are-imminent-when-theyre-decades-away","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/robot-developers-keep-making-it-seem-like-housebots-are-imminent-when-theyre-decades-away\/","title":{"rendered":"#Robot developers keep making it seem like housebots are imminent when they\u2019re decades\u00a0away"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_84 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a2c17021b346\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a2c17021b346\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/robot-developers-keep-making-it-seem-like-housebots-are-imminent-when-theyre-decades-away\/#Behind_the_curtain\" >Behind the curtain<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/robot-developers-keep-making-it-seem-like-housebots-are-imminent-when-theyre-decades-away\/#The_data_deficit\" >The data deficit<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<div>\nThe walking, talking, dancing Optimus robots at the recent Tesla demonstration generated <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/HowThingsWork_\/status\/1844735472418931145\">huge excitement<\/a>. But this turned to <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/gizmodo.com\/elon-musks-beer-pouring-optimus-robots-are-not-autonomous-2000510899\">disappointment<\/a> as it <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/news\/articles\/2024-10-14\/tesla-s-optimus-robots-were-remotely-operated-at-cybercab-event\">became apparent<\/a> that <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/fortune.com\/2024\/10\/13\/elon-musk-tesla-optimus-robot-tele-operated-robotaxi\/\">much of<\/a> what was h<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>ening was actually being controlled remotely by humans.<\/p>\n<p>As much as this might still be a fascinating glimpse of the future, it\u2019s not the first time that robots have turned out to be a little too good to be true.<\/p>\n<p>Take Sophia, for instance, the robot created by Texas-based Hanson Robotics back in 2016. She was presented by the company as essentially an intelligent being, prompting <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theverge.com\/2018\/1\/18\/16904742\/sophia-the-robot-ai-real-fake-yann-lecun-criticism\">numerous tech specialists<\/a> to <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=CE4pGzmucig\">call this out<\/a> as well beyond our capabilities at the time.<\/p>\n<p>Similarly we\u2019ve seen carefully choreographed videos of pre-scripted action sequences like Boston Dynamics\u2019 <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cnet.com\/tech\/farewell-to-boston-dynamics-atlas-robot-hilarious-bloopers-and-triumphs-reel\/\">Atlas gymnastics<\/a>, the English-made <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=o6nej26lAhM\">Ameca robot \u201cwaking up\u201d<\/a>, and most recently Tesla\u2019s Optimus <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/Tesla_Optimus\/status\/1846797392521167223\">in the factory<\/a>. Obviously these are still impressive in different ways, but they\u2019re nowhere near the complete sentient package. Let Optimus or Atlas loose in a random home and you\u2019d see something very different.<\/p>\n<figure>\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" srcdoc=\"&lt;style&gt;*{padding:0;margin:0;overflow:hidden}html,body{background:#000;height:100%}img{position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;object-fit:cover;transition:opacity .1s cubic-bezier(0.4,0,1,1)}a:hover img+img{opacity:1!important}&lt;\/style&gt;&lt;a href=\" https:=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/img.youtube.com\/vi\/7f53c_C7yic\/hqdefault.jpg\" style=\"top: 50%;left:50%;width:68px;height:48px;transform:translate3d(-50%,-50%,0)\" width=\"440\" height=\"260\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><br \/>\n<\/figure>\n<p>A humanoid robot capable of working in our homes needs to be capable of doing many different tasks, using our tools, navigating our environments and communicating with us like a human. If you thought this was just a year or two away, you\u2019re going to be disappointed.<\/p>\n<p>Building robots able to interact and carry out complex tasks in our homes and streets is still a huge challenge. Designing them even to do one specific task well, such as opening a door, is phenomenally difficult.<\/p>\n<p>There are so many door handles with different shapes, weights and materials, not to mention the complexity of dealing with unforeseen circumstances such as a locked door or objects blocking the way. Developers have actually <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.newscientist.com\/article\/2415590-this-robot-can-figure-out-how-to-open-almost-any-door-on-its-own\/\">now created<\/a> a door-opening robot, but robots that can deal with hundreds of everyday tasks are still some way off.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Behind_the_curtain\"><\/span>Behind the curtain<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>The Tesla demonstration\u2019s \u201cWizard of Oz\u201d remote operation technique is a commonly used control method in this field, giving researchers a benchmark against which to test their real advances. Known as telemetric control, this has been around for some time, and is becoming more advanced.<\/p>\n<p>One of the authors of this article, Carl Strathearn, was at a conference in Japan earlier this year, where a keynote speaker from one of the top robotics labs demonstrated an advanced telemetrics system. It allowed a single human to simultaneously operate many humanoid robots semi-autonomously, using pre-scripted movements, conversation prompts and computerised speech.<\/p>\n<p>Clearly, this is very useful <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/technology\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"4\" title=\"Technology\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">technology<\/a>. Telemetric systems are used to control robots working in <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC10741399\/\">dangerous environments<\/a>, <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/technology-46466531\">disability healthcare<\/a> and even in <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/science\/humanoid-robots-space-next-frontier-2023-12-27\/\">outer space<\/a>. But the reason why a human is still at the helm is because even the most advanced humanoid robots, such as Atlas, are not yet reliable enough to operate completely independently in the real world.<\/p>\n<figure>\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" srcdoc=\"&lt;style&gt;*{padding:0;margin:0;overflow:hidden}html,body{background:#000;height:100%}img{position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;object-fit:cover;transition:opacity .1s cubic-bezier(0.4,0,1,1)}a:hover img+img{opacity:1!important}&lt;\/style&gt;&lt;a href=\" https:=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/img.youtube.com\/vi\/tF4DML7FIWk\/hqdefault.jpg\" style=\"top: 50%;left:50%;width:68px;height:48px;transform:translate3d(-50%,-50%,0)\" width=\"440\" height=\"260\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><br \/>\n<\/figure>\n<p>Another major problem is what we can call <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">social<\/a> AI. Leading generative AI programs such as <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.technologyreview.com\/2023\/12\/06\/1084471\/google-deepminds-new-gemini-model-looks-amazing-but-could-signal-peak-ai-hype\/\">DeepMind\u2019s Gemini<\/a> and OpenAI\u2019s <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/help.openai.com\/en\/articles\/8555496-gpt-4-vision-api\">GPT-4 Vision<\/a> may be a foundation for creative autonomous AI systems for humanoid robots in the future. But we should not be misled into believing that such models mean that a robot is now capable of functioning well in the real world.<\/p>\n<p>Interpreting information and problem solving like a human requires much more than just recognising words, classifying objects and generating speech. It requires a deeper contextual understanding of people, objects and environments \u2013 in other words, common sense.<\/p>\n<p>To explore what is currently possible, we recently completed a <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/cui.acm.org\/workshops\/HRI2023\/pdfs\/HRCI23_paper_5.pdf\">research project<\/a> called Common Sense Enhanced Language and Vision (CiViL). We equipped a robot called Euclid with commonsense knowledge as part of a generative AI vision and language system to assist people in preparing recipes. To do this, we had to create commonsense knowledge databases using real-world problem-solving examples enacted by students.<\/p>\n<p>Euclid could explain complicated steps in recipes, give suggestions when things went wrong, and even point people to locations in the kitchen where utensils and tools might typically be found. Yet there were still issues, such as what to do if someone has a bad allergic reaction while cooking. The problem is that it\u2019s almost impossible to handle every possible scenario, yet that\u2019s what true common sense entails.<\/p>\n<p>This fundamental aspect of AI has got somewhat lost in humanoid robots over the years. Generated speech, realistic facial expressions, telemetric controls, even the ability to play <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/game\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"7\" title=\"Game\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">game<\/a>s such as \u201crock paper scissors\u201d are all impressive. But the novelty soon wears off if the robots are not actually capable of doing anything useful on their own.<\/p>\n<figure>\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" srcdoc=\"&lt;style&gt;*{padding:0;margin:0;overflow:hidden}html,body{background:#000;height:100%}img{position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;object-fit:cover;transition:opacity .1s cubic-bezier(0.4,0,1,1)}a:hover img+img{opacity:1!important}&lt;\/style&gt;&lt;a href=\" https:=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/img.youtube.com\/vi\/3nxjjztQKtY\/hqdefault.jpg\" style=\"top: 50%;left:50%;width:68px;height:48px;transform:translate3d(-50%,-50%,0)\" width=\"440\" height=\"260\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><br \/>\n<\/figure>\n<p>This isn\u2019t to say that significant progress <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/humanoid-ai.github.io\/HumanPlus.pdf\">isn\u2019t being made<\/a> toward autonomous humanoid robots. There\u2019s impressive work going on into <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.newscientist.com\/article\/2274084-artificial-nervous-system-senses-light-and-learns-to-catch-like-humans\/\">robotic nervous systems<\/a> to give robots more senses for learning, for instance. It\u2019s just not usually given the same amount of press attention as the big unveilings.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_data_deficit\"><\/span>The data deficit<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Another key challenge is the lack of real-world data to train AI systems, since online data doesn\u2019t always accurately represent the real-world conditions necessary for training our robots well enough. We have yet to find an effective way of collecting this real-world data in large enough quantities to get good results. However, this may change soon if we can access it from technologies such as Alexa and <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ray-ban.com\/uk\/ray-ban-meta-smart-glasses\">Meta Ray-Bans<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Nonetheless, the reality is that we\u2019re still perhaps decades away from developing multimodal humanoid robots with advanced social AI that are capable of helping around the house. Maybe in the meantime we\u2019ll be offered robots controlled remotely from a command centre. Will we want them, though?<\/p>\n<p>In the meantime, it\u2019s also more important that we focus our efforts on creating robots for roles that can support people who urgently need help now. Examples would <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/fsi.stanford.edu\/news\/robots-may-be-right-prescription-struggling-nursing-homes\">include healthcare<\/a>, where there are long waiting lists and understaffed hospitals; <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/schoolsweek.co.uk\/how-robots-are-helping-anxious-pupils-go-back-to-school\/\">and education<\/a>, to offer a way for overanxious or severely ill children to participate in classrooms remotely. We also need better transparency, legislation and publicly available testing, so that everyone can tell fact from fiction and help build public trust for when the robots eventually do arrive.<!-- Below is The Conversation's page counter tag. Please DO NOT REMOVE. --><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;\" alt=\"The Conversation\" width=\"1\" height=\"1\" class=\"js-lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/counter.theconversation.com\/content\/241638\/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic\"\/><!-- End of code. If you don't see any code above, please get new code from the Advanced tab after you click the republish button. The page counter does not collect any personal data. More info: https:\/\/theconversation.com\/republishing-guidelines --><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;\" src=\"https:\/\/counter.theconversation.com\/content\/241638\/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic\" alt=\"The Conversation\" width=\"1\" height=\"1\" class=\"\" srcset=\"\"\/><\/p>\n<p><em><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/profiles\/carl-strathearn-1196677\">Carl Strathearn<\/a>, Research Fellow, Computing, <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/institutions\/edinburgh-napier-university-696\">Edinburgh Napier University<\/a> and <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/profiles\/dimitra-gkatzia-340620\">Dimitra Gkatzia<\/a>, Associate Professor in Computing, <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/institutions\/edinburgh-napier-university-696\">Edinburgh Napier University<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>This article is republished from <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\">The Conversation<\/a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/robot-developers-keep-making-it-seem-like-housebots-are-imminent-when-theyre-decades-away-241638\">original article<\/a>.<\/em>\n<\/div>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMN63nwsw68G3Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more like this article, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/technology\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Technology category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/thenextweb.com\/news\/robot-developers-housebots-decades-away\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The walking, talking, dancing Optimus robots at the recent Tesla demonstration generated huge excitement. But this turned to disappointment as it became apparent that much of what was happening was actually being controlled remotely by humans. As much as this might still be a fascinating glimpse of the future, it\u2019s not the first time that&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":642795,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/img-cdn.tnwcdn.com\/image\/tnw-blurple?filter_last=1&fit=1280%2C640&url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn0.tnwcdn.com%2Fwp-content%2Fblogs.dir%2F1%2Ffiles%2F2024%2F10%2FUntitled-design-3-1.jpg&signature=83e3d40acd486750698a3a8fffde91e5","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-642794","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/642794","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=642794"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/642794\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/642795"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=642794"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=642794"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=642794"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}