Dr. Sebastian Reitelshöfer, Research Associate at the Chair of Manufacturing Automation and Production Systems. Credit: FAU/Sebastian Reitelshöfer
Humanoid robots are no longer science fiction: They can take on tasks that challenge humans and have the potential to play an important role in industry, services or private households in the future. At Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU), researchers are working on hardware and software for human-like robots. Dr. Sebastian Reitelshöfer from the FAU Chair of Manufacturing Automation and Production Systems explains in an interview how humanoid robots could support us in the future and why this future technology on two legs could be an opportunity for northern Bavarian industry.
What exactly is meant by a humanoid robot, and what distinguishes it from other robots?
Humanoid robots are designed to resemble humans in their external form. Many walk on two legs. However, this is not a mandatory feature. There are also humanoid robots that move on a mobile platform.
One important, not necessarily technical, difference from other robotic systems is that they almost always immediately elicit strong reactions, associations and expectations in humans. Visitors to our lab often try, for example, to communicate directly with our humanoid robots because they intuitively assume that something human-like can also speak. This can be used to initiate interaction with inexperienced users without them having to read an instruction manual first. However, it also presents developers with the challenge of not disappointing these intuitive expectations, which could otherwise result in poor acceptance.
