This bizarre smiling face is made from living human skin cells, and its creators say it could one day be attached to a humanoid robot to help machines communicate more effectively.
Grown on a collagen scaffold and placed on a 3D-printed resin base, the face contains ligament-like structures, which, like the tissue of real animals, give it a life-like strength and flexibility. However, it can鈥檛 currently survive long in the open air because it doesn鈥檛 have an active bloody supply system.
Driverless cars have yet to see widespread use, and most work differently from human drivers, using custom mechanics and artificial intelligence to steer directly. Researchers at the University of Tokyo decided to take a different approach with their humanoid robot, called Musashi, which can drive a car like a human.
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It is, however, extremely limited, moving only in straight lines or making right-hand turns, at speeds of around 5 kilometres per hour. The researchers hope this method of driving might become more common if humanoid robots become ubiquitous.
The figure in the middle here isn鈥檛 a humanoid robot, but Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang. Earlier this year, AI chip-maker Nvidia, one of the world鈥檚 most valuable companies, announced new software and hardware to help build humanoid robots.
The company鈥檚 main effort is an ambitious initiative, called , which looks to build a large artificial intelligence model that can help humanoid robots learn tasks more efficiently using language.
Miroka茂, healthcare robots built by French company Enchanted Tools, were announced at the 2024 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. The robots, which have been given seemingly friendly, cat-like faces that can convey emotion, are being rolled out to four hospitals in Paris, where they will help with simple logistical and administrative tasks, such as telling people about hospital opening hours.
Robotic waiters aren鈥檛 a new idea, and have been used in countries like Japan and China for several years, but they are becoming more commonplace. This robotic waiter works in a caf茅 in Nairobi, Kenya, where it serves food to patrons. The caf茅鈥檚 owner, . The caf茅 has sparked concerns about loss of jobs to automatons, but Abbas said that the robots are so expensive to acquire and so limited in what they do that the caf茅 still needs human waiters for the majority of work.
A realistic robotic face is the basis for countless books and films, but the unsettling feelings triggered by the small differences between humans and human-like robots, known as the 鈥渦ncanny valley鈥�, has so far kept these as science fiction. Private companies are now increasingly attempting to make more life-like robots, such as this face developed by Chinese company Ex-Robots, which is using AI to make its robots鈥� facial expressions more human.
Police forces have already shown interest in using robotic dogs. The New York Police Department bought two Spot robot dogs last year, for example. Now, Malaga police have a robotic dog, and it is the first of its kind in Spain. This robot was developed by researchers at the University of Malaga and will help support police work like spotting traffic violations, such as illegal e-scooter use.
