from irobot to steven spielberg's ai humanoid robots are the stuff of science fiction
for almost a century futurists and soothsayers have predicted the dawn of a new species
the robot not only would these mechanical marvels walk and talk but they'd also handle all the tasks
we didn't want to do from chores to mining far back in 1932 british inventor harry may showed
off his robotic invention called alpha which could fire a gun at a target to a world shocked by the
rampant unemployment of the great depression the humanoid robot was a terrifying prospect
here was a worker without needs of food water or rest yet almost a century on the nightmare never
came to pass while robots are now commonplace in factories worldwide their robotic arms screwing on
a car wheels or producing high-end electronics the humanoid robot remains elusive until now
in this video i'll explore five of the most realistic humanoid robots being developed today
and answer if the future is shiny and chrome after all welcome back to our channel if you
haven't already make sure to hit that subscribe button and ring the bell so that you get notified
every time we upload a new video number five atlas robot no company is pushing the bounds
of robotics more than boston dynamics from the dog-like spot to the arm on wheel stretch
the company's impressive robotic arsenal is likely to bring visions of judgement day but it's their
atlas robot that most resembles the inhuman terminator portrayed by arnold schwarzenegger
first unveiled in 2013 the atlas prototype was akin to a small child as program manager gil
pratt said a one-year-old child can barely walk a one-year-old child falls down a lot
this is where we are right now since then the progress has been nothing short of astounding
every few years boston dynamics has dropped a new viral video showing atlas's progress
from being barely able to walk atlas can now walk sprint jump do a backflip balance on one leg
it can even dance the five foot tall robot has better balance than most people
it's a marvel of engineering with a top speed of 2.5 meters per second involving 28 hydraulic
joints but that's only the beginning the boston dynamics team hopes atlas will eventually be able
to drive climb ladders put out fires and more as ai specialist gary bradsky put it a new species
robo sapiens are emerging if atlus is anything to go by it's only a matter of time number four peppa
where a mecca can show emotion peppa can read them manufactured by softbank robotics this
semi-humanoid robot is designed to understand 15 languages recognize and interact with the person
talking and respond appropriately and unlike other robots pepper is available to purchase
indeed over 2 000 companies have adopted their own pepper to welcome inform and guide visitors
to their business and as of 2018 12 000 pepper robots have been sold in europe even better
pepper is completely programmable part of the aim was to give independent developers a chance
to create new content and uses for the social robot however peppa isn't quite as versatile as
others on this list the robot is mounted on wheels with 20 degrees of freedom for natural and
expressive movements there's also a touch screen through which people can interact with peppa
like alexa or siri you can ask pepper any question this social little robot will answer as best as it
can if robots are to become popular they'll need to win our trust peppa might be the first stage in
doing just that number three digit look no further for the latest generation of humanoid robots
digit is the apex of modern robotics this bipedal automaton can straw comfortably down the street
or hike in the forest it can pick and stack 40 pound boxes or catch itself from falling over
developed by agility robotics based in oregon digit is their most advanced creation yet
inside digit's torso hides two multi-core cpus and a raft of new software enabling advanced behaviors
like stair climbing or footstep planning from the moment you unpack digit from the box it'll be
walking within five minutes but its unusual design has legs more horse than human with knees which
bend backwards together these features increase the balance and versatility of the robot it won't
be long before digit is performing commonplace tasks including loading and unloading boxes from
self-driving vehicles indeed agility robotics recently signed a deal with ford to do just that
as one promotional advert shows digit can fold up and be stored at the back of a vehicle ready
to unfold and deliver a package from the click of a button to delivery your order might soon
be handled entirely by robots still with a price tag of 250 000 don't expect digit to be strolling
through your door anytime soon but as the market expands digit is likely to become ever more common
number two sophia in 2016 sophia made headlines worldwide for her startlingly lifelike appearance
sofia can follow faces maintain eye contact and even recognize individuals
using computer vision no longer was a robot simply an it now it was a her
indeed so convincing is sofia that in october 2017 the saudi arabian government granted her
citizenship a first for robot kind that's not all a month later sophia was also named the united
nations development program's first innovation champion with a complex speech system sophia can
engage in natural conversations when combined with over 60 facial expressions you can begin
to forget she's even a robot at all her design was modeled after the ancient egyptian queen
nefertiti audrey hepburn an inventor david hansen's wife amanda now she can even walk
the hong kong-based team at hanson robotics installed a full body in 2018 and hopes to
mass produce sofia in 2022 number one ameca atlas might walk the walk but it doesn't talk if robots
are going to change our lives they'll need to communicate that's where amaca comes in developed
by the uk's cornwall based firm engineered arts a mecca is the world's most advanced humanoid robot
as the team there says human-like artificial intelligence needs a human-like artificial body
a mecca is both a mecca exhibits the most accurate human facial expressions to date with a
frighteningly realistic face the robot will follow your finger with its eyes and if you get too close
it'll brush your hand away this is a robot that understands personal space it's all a little too
uncanny surprise wonder curiosity joy each nuance of emotion can be found in amaka's face the robot
is being developed to match complex expressions with the latest ai but what do you think which
robot is set to take the world by storm or do you think we're still decades away from the vision of
science fiction writers like isaac asimov let us know in the comments below if you enjoyed this
video make sure to check out our other videos thanks for watching we'll see you next time