South Korean media: Humanoid robots, China leads Silicon Valley by a step!
On January 9, South Korean media "Global Economy" published an article stating that the recent humanoid robot summit held in Silicon Valley shows that people still hold a skeptical attitude towards the commercialization of humanoid robot technology.
On the other hand, according to Fortune magazine, analysis shows that China has gained a significant advantage in this field under the strategic support led by the government.
The Humanoid Robot Summit is a global technological event focusing on humanoid robots and physical artificial intelligence (AI). Since attendees include investors, startups, researchers from large companies, and policymakers, discussions at the summit are seen as important signals revealing the commercial viability of the robot industry and the future landscape of technological competition.
According to Fortune magazine, the robotics industry had been neglected by Silicon Valley investors due to technical complexity, high costs, and lack of attention, but it has regained attention due to the AI boom.
Mohammad Alavi, a venture capitalist, hosted the Humanoid Robot Summit and said, "Many researchers now believe that the physical implementation of AI, namely humanoid robots, will soon become standard."
More than 2,000 participants, including robotic engineers from large companies such as Disney and Google, as well as dozens of startup companies, attended this summit, showcasing their technologies and discussing industry development directions. Disney announced plans to operate a self-walking robot modeled after the character Olaf from the animated film "Frozen" at Hong Kong and Paris Disneyland at the beginning of this year.
However, even in events aimed at promoting the commercialization of this technology, there is strong skepticism. Kosima D'Apice, CEO of Haply Robotics, said, "Humanoid robot technology still faces many challenges." Haply Robotics is a startup company focused on developing robot tactile sensors.
According to McKinsey, a global management consulting company, currently over 50 companies in the humanoid robot R&D field have received more than $100 million in investment globally, with 20 located in China and 15 in North America.
In the exhibition hall of this summit, several humanoid robots from UBTech were displayed. UBTech's products are relatively low-priced, and even American researchers use them to test software.
In the United States, investment in robot startups is rapidly increasing due to the rise of generative AI. In fact, AI language and visual recognition technologies are being used to help robots identify objects and learn their surroundings.
However, there is considerable doubt about the effectiveness of AI-based humanoid robots. Rodney Brooks, co-founder of iRobot, said, "Even if we invest hundreds of millions or even billions of dollars, today's humanoid robots will never learn dexterous hand operations."
Jeff Bernstein, president of the International Federation of Robotics and Automation, pointed out, "Although the United States has excellent AI technology, it lacks a clear national robot development strategy. Although who will lead the trend remains to be seen, China is currently showing strong momentum in the field of humanoid robots."
Original: toutiao.com/article/1853824992809994/
Statement: This article represents the views of the author.