Scary Monsters, aka Physical Artificial Intelligence: Five Months’ Progress with Robots

This AI subarea is not only one of the oldest, but the most graphically visible.  And, in honor of our publication date, the closest to monsters.  But how good are they really?

We start with “Delivery robot autonomously lifts, transports heavy cargo” (Kurt Knutsson, Fox News, May 26^th).  So you don’t want to pay those mid-six-figure incomes to union dock workers, or even way over $100k to UPS package handlers?  This technology, LEVA, can “load and unload cargo boxes without any human help” by “securing the box,” then lifting “itself back up and” carrying “the load to its destination,” handling up to 187 pounds and dealing with stairs and “rough terrain” on the way.  Alas, nothing here about availability.

Dealing with a current problem, “John Deere addresses farm labor shortages with autonomous tractors” (Sophia Compton, Fox Business, also May 26^th).  Although they have been made in at least prototype form for almost four years, we can’t tell from this article if, or when, you can buy one.

More clearly in the present tense is “Humanoid robots handle quality checks and assembly at auto plant” (Kurt Knutsson, Fox News, June 24^th).  “Kepler Robotics has officially introduced its Forerunner K2 “Bumblebee” humanoid robot at the SAIC-GM automotive plant in Shanghai… in a recently released video, the K2 is seen moving confidently through the plant, performing detailed quality checks, and handling assembly operations that demand both strength and precision.”  It “can load stamped parts, manipulate mechanical fixtures, and adapt to new tasks using a combination of imitation and reinforcement learning.”  In addition to “tactile manipulators with an impressive 11 degrees of freedom per hand, and flexible fingertip sensors that boost its dexterity,” it “leverages a cloud-based cognitive system that enables it to learn new tasks quickly and coordinate its movements with full-body awareness.”  Fundamentally, largely because of AI, better than the industrial robots of decades ago.

Continuing along more general but similar lines, from the same author and source, “Job-killing robot learns at work, and it’s coming to the factory floor” (July 5^th).  Although the previous example would match the title, this time it’s Hexagon’s AEON, also “humanoid” and designed for “handling repetitive and error-prone tasks,” which allows “raising the bar for productivity and workplace safety.”  It uses Microsoft Azure and “Maxon’s advanced actuators” to get “remarkable agility and dexterity,” along with “spatial awareness,” and its “intelligence grows over time thanks to a self-learning loop.”  But no availability information, and described by Knutsson as “new.”

Did you know that “There Are More Robots Working in China Than the Rest of the World Combined” (Meaghan Tobin and Keith Bradsher, The New York Times, September 25^th)?  That was “more than two million… in Chinese factories last year,” per the International Federation of Robotics, with 300,000 “new” ones.  Charts of “annual installations of industrial robots,” one for China and one for “rest of world,” show the second one way ahead from 2015 to 2019, somewhat higher in 2020, and behind from 2021 to 2024.  Because of a “national push,” “over the past decade, China has embarked on a broad campaign to use more robots in its factories, become a major maker of robots and combine the industry with advances in artificial intelligence,” and now has “five times as many robots working in its factories as the United States.”

This time’s stunning speed achievement is from a product that “is a collaboration between Crest Robotics and Earthbuilt Technology, “Australian construction robot Charlotte can 3D print 2,150-sq-ft home in one day using sustainable materials” (Kurt Knutsson, Fox News, October 12^th).  The author described that as “the speed of more than 100 bricklayers working simultaneously.”  The material it uses “comes from sand, crushed brick and recycled glass,” forming “a structure that’s fireproof, floodproof and created with a far smaller carbon footprint than traditional building methods.”  Its “future versions” could even build “moon bases for research and exploration.”  Until then, though, it needs to become available, as it, representations to the contrary, “may be years away from building its first full-scale home.”

Apparently in progress now, though, are “The Robots Fueling Amazon’s Automation” (Karen Weise, The New York Times, October 21^st).  In that company’s “most advanced warehouse in Shreveport, La., employees touch products at just a few stages, such as taking them out of shipping boxes and placing them in bins,” whereupon “the Sparrow robotic arm looks into a bin of items, picks the one it wants and puts it in another bin,” sometime after which “the robotic arm called Robin places packed packages on a small robot called Pegasus, which shuttles packages to drop down specific chutes depending on where they will be shipped.”  After that, robots sort them and “autonomously” take “them to shipping docks.”  No doubt there will be further improvements, and perhaps more steps automated.

How can it be that “Robots power breakthrough in pregnancy research, boosting IVF success rates” (Angelica Stabile, Fox News, October 23^rd)?  The automata “assist in the (in-vitro fertilization) lab,” which incorporates a great deal of other AI, by “preparing specialized plates to sustain embryos,” at which they are “10 times more precise in preparing (them) than humans.”

These are wonderful developments.  My only gripe is that, as so often happens in the information technology field, the difference between current and projected future obtainability is often blurred.  Is it fair to credit a product with being able to do something, if it has not been publicly rolled out?  What steps remain for the manufacturers of, in the cases above, LEVA, robotic tractors, AEON, and Charlotte to sell their products commercially?  How much low-error time after that would it take for the makers, and us, to declare their product productively deployed?  We don’t have much for answers to any of these.  Until we do, or see successful robotic sales and deployment, we should limit credit to the Amazons, Bumblebees, and IVF robots.  The other companies can see why – if they can get there, we’ll do the same for them.