Why are people trying to make humanoid robots?

[marharth]

Is there any real reason for this? Seems like a massive waste of money to me.

[McclaudEagle]

It's the same as the way they spent £8 million on the LHC at Cern. It's not really a waste of money because the people funding it are the one's making it and seeing it become a reality.

 

And actually, a humanoid robot may well have many useful purposes, the military being a key one. If they master it, you can have a robotic soldier that can do everything a real soldier can do.

[hoofhearted4]

a human robot gives us the impression that we can create life. hence why we keep trying to give them emotions, which would be useless for a robot doing any task. i think its pretty stupid....giving them emotions that is.

 

but no robot will ever be able to do everything a real soldier can do, not even close....they will be used more for bomb disarmament and medivac and stuff , then high stress situations....idc how smart your robot is, ill take a live soldier to watch my 6 any day of the week.

Edited November 10, 2011 by hoofhearted4

[marharth]

Well the LHC is trying to find new particles that can change the entire way we view the world.

 

As for soldiers, why do they need to be shaped like humans?

[McclaudEagle]

Which is why you wouldn't use a robotic soldier alongside real soldiers. The idea of using a robotic soldier is in situations where it's too dangerous for a real soldier to perform safely. A robot can take a couple of bullets and be repaired, a soldier will likely be dead. Currently, robots are used in the military, but they're not the humanoid kind. The problem with robots currently in use is that they're limited in their capabilities.

 

Give it a hundred years or so, and these humanoid robots will likely be as efficient physically as a real soldier, if not more so. In terms of its AI, you're probably right, but even that might be more sophisticated and more powerful than a human soldier. A human can make a few on-the-spot calculations at a time, a machine can make hundred, even thousands.

 

"As for soldiers, why do they need to be shaped like humans?"

 

How else should they look like, if not human? Keep in mind that a humanoid robot can be made just as mobile and have the dexterity of a real human. Maybe not now, but eventually.

Edited November 10, 2011 by McclaudEagle

[marharth]

Humans are not the idea form for combat and most other things.

[Werne]

I hope robots won't be replacing soldiers. That's my job.

 

Humans are not the idea form for combat and most other things.

 

What do you mean? Humans fight, either for survival or against each others, for the past 2 000 000 years. If you don't remember the history lessons, humans, from the very beginings of civilization wage wars with each other. Today, it's no different, I was born in the war, and I served in one. If humans are ideal for anything, it's combat, it's just a matter of training.

[marharth]

I hope robots won't be replacing soldiers. That's my job.

 

Humans are not the idea form for combat and most other things.

 

What do you mean? Humans fight, either for survival or against each others, for the past 2 000 000 years. If you don't remember the history lessons, humans, from the very beginings of civilization wage wars with each other. Today, it's no different, I was born in the war, and I served in one. If humans are ideal for anything, it's combat, it's just a matter of training.

That is the human mind that did all of that, not the human body.

[hoofhearted4]

the human form is actually horrible. we are top heavy and the very fact that we can walk is quite an evolutionary miracle since we are always off balance.

 

 

but still, i do not see robots replacing soldiers, except in specific areas. but we will always have a human Delta Force, a human Seal Team 6, etc. the best of the best will always be human. as i said, robots will be the ones that clear out mines/bombs or go into open fire to retrieve a wounded soldier or fly our planes/tanks/etc (in the case of UAVs and such) but again wont replace our foot soldier.

 

as someone said, it wasnt the human body, it was the human mind that allowed us to fight. did humans ever go toe to toe with any other predator? no. they used weapons. a human cannot go toe to toe with any predator. we would lose 9.999 times out of 10. and that .001 time is if the animal has a heart attack.

Edited November 10, 2011 by hoofhearted4

[Delikatessen]

So we can play table tennis with them.

 

Really, there are lots of ways humanoid robots can be useful. Maybe not as soldiers because that would be a horrible idea, but maybe as automated janitors. You wouldn't want a simple robot that just wheels around cleaning the floor or a 3 meter tall stick looking thingy, you would want something that can sweep the floor AND clean cobwebs out from the ceiling, so a human-like robot would come in handy for that.

 

You could also use them as security guards, custodians, tour guides, and even as doctors.

 

At least until they gain sentience and decide that humans are mean and burn us all in atomic fire :(

 

As for using robots as soldiers, I think simple 4 foot tall treaded robots would be useful as sentries or for reconnaissance and surveillance would be useful. Then you could use that extra manpower to put more firepower on the frontline.