Humanoid robots or bipedal robots are two legged robots which generally have the characteristics of a human.
Some humanoids like the ones from the top robotics companies like Hanson Robotics and Engineered Arts look incredibly realistic.
Many of these robots look just like real people and speak for the most part like people and with advanced AI, some are getting better at responding to questions every day.
There has always been a phrase in robotics called the “uncanny valley” which simply implies that if you make a robot person or animal too realistic looking then there will be something about it that makes it too “creepy”.
Usually the creepy part happens when you hear the humanoid answer some question oddly due to not yet perfect AI, or perhaps when it makes some facial tick or movement that does not appear human like.
It is so difficult to make a heavy life size humanoid that can walk properly and maintain balance that most robots are simply made to move on wheels or be on a platform.
Even the super realistic robot Sophia from Hanson Robotics appeared on many television shows including the Jimmy Fallon show or with Tony Robbins and was on a moving platform.
Walking is very much easier for walking robots either indoor or out and much more affordable.
Small and light toy size robots can walk in a robot style and more are starting to walk reaasonaby well also.
Here are some of the things one would have to add to a humanoid if they wanted to make them like something even better than what you would see in the television series Westworld.
- realistic skin and hair
- a temperature to its body which could be measured at the head or tongue level
- a beating sound or movement like a pulse at various points like the wrist or heart area
- some liquid to come out if there is a cut and it should look and flow like blood
- there should be some sense of sweat shown on the face during stress or exercise
- there could be movements in the body mass while moving like a flabby stomach
- a voice that modulates or even coughs or sneezes or hiccups
- possibility of excreting human fluids like vommit, spit, urine
- eyeballs that tear up or pupils that can dilate and a realistic blinking motion
- skin that can produce goosebumps or hair can stand on end or a cat robots fur could rise
- moist air that could be detectable coming from the nose and mouth and show against a mirror
- a tongue with markings on it and moisture
- a movable adams apple in the neck of male robot
- possibility of being anatomically correct
- movement in the toes which is almost never considered even though fingers must always move
- the showing of pulsed lips and cheeks for whistling or playing a saxophone
- a detectable fingerprint on every finger
