AI was certainly the main trend at CES this year (as it was the year before) but another, connected, category stood out quite prominently. Most of the North Hall, the West Hall’s most popular exhibit, and several bits of central hall were dedicated to robotics. And many of those bots looked worryingly human.
So what can you expect? Well, Elon Musk’s prediction we’ll have domestic robots in the next decade is pretty likely. Even if Tesla fails and “Optimus” never hits the market, numerous other companies are vying to fill the gap. Here’s what you might see from them.
Domestic Robots are coming
German company Neura isn’t hopping into the domestic market just yet, but did have several domestic robots on display. They’re pretty big, about the size of a large man, and were engaged in a variety of household tasks. Though they did struggle with a few of them, and the company is clear that the bots first jobs will be in factories or as “greeters” for businesses.
After observing a Neura for a few minutes I managed to confirm it wasn’t actually propping up the bar at one of CES’ many parties the night before, and there went its much human trait. When it did grab the apple, there was a surprising amount of variety in its technique. The apple it handed me was gripped with four fingers and a thumb before being dropped into my palm. The person receiving an apple after me saw their fruit gently picked up between two of the robot’s fingers and its thumb before the apple was placed into their palm. Maybe it overheard me joking about its oil/alcohol levels.
Neura has also collaborated with Porsche Design to produce a sleeker version of the upcoming bot. I couldn’t get pricing on the Porsche Design variant, but it’s definitely going to be a fair bit more than the standard model — which retails for just under $100,000.
Humanoid robots will likely take a lot of jobs
While media types like me are a bit wary of AI and its impact on our career prospects, regular folks should be getting a bit nervous too. Many of the robots on display were doing the jobs millions of people rely on. This included bartending, serving coffee, and even running a fully automated convenience store which already has five locations in California. I didn’t manage to get a drink from the robot barman at CES (though I have sampled that kind of thing before) but I did gat a robot-made coffee. It was decent, even if it was produced by a glorified vending machine.
Skilled labor is also an area bots may move into, with Boston Dynamics’ “Atlas” set to join Hyundai’s US workforce. The Hyundai booth was arguably the best attended in the West Hall, as thousands of people lined up to witness the bot going about its business. Its business mainly consisted of moving car parts from a box to a shelf, but that’s just a demo. In reality, it’s capable of learning on the job, can pull a 24 hour shift seven times a week, and will even change its own batteries in a pinch.
Plenty of other bots were around
There were a lot of specific robots on display too, usually specializing in a single task. This included solving little puzzles, sorting laundry, and generally greeting members of the public. Some could talk or shake hands, though many of the booth attendants were warning people not to directly touch the bots.
A multitude of robotic companions were also on display. Strange little pet-type things designed to keep you company. There are some real-world uses for this kind of thing, including keeping people in environments where you can’t have animals but still need some kind of companionship.
I even heard about a kind of combat-oriented robot. A friend showed me a video of it boxing some guy. I obviously tried to hunt it down and slap it around a bit, just so it doesn’t get any ideas about overthrowing humanity any time soon. But the four-foot tall glorified toaster was nowhere to be seen. It was obviously ducking me.
Is it time to worry?
Between AI and robotics, it’s obvious we’re heading into the biggest economic upheaval since the industrial revolution. It’s likely even bigger than that. However, it’s also worth pointing out that the invention of trains, factory machinery, and everything else that set the Luddites off didn’t cause the end of humanity. The population actually exploded afterwards.
The world exists for humans, and as rough as things may seem this should all work out for the better. The loss of menial jobs and hard labor, along with the drop in prices, should ideally lead to a world where people can relax and pursue their passions. Basically turning us into a nation of retirees going on cruises, playing golf, and telling those robots to pull themselves up by their bootstraps like we did. Alternatively, it all kicks off and we end up living in a big Mad Max spinoff. I’ll see you in the Thunderdome.
