Important to also note that engineering tradeoffs for a product iteration for first deployments has different considerations than tradeoffs for ongoing deployment. It isn’t just econimies of scale but what the most important outcomes are.
Do you think that industry is then (ironically) trending back to more focused design and function of robots to specific tasks from the whole generalist hype? For example, Walden and Sunday turning to wheeled bases since manipulation tasks in fixed terrain environments (home and factory) definitely don't require legs.
Perhaps robotics is going to settle in a basin in which we have more capable robots that can generalize to a subset of tasks that are optimal for a specific business instead of the dream of a truly general purpose humanoid.
A robot covering its face while running turns out to be a nice lesson in engineering trade-offs.
Humans use their arms to counterbalance their legs. Tien Kung Omni’s shoulders, however, appear better suited to carrying loads than swinging rapidly. So its learned running gait found another solution: smaller arm movements, more torso rotation, and hands up near its face.
Design a joint to win the lifting spec sheet, and you may change how the whole body wants to move.
Important to also note that engineering tradeoffs for a product iteration for first deployments has different considerations than tradeoffs for ongoing deployment. It isn’t just econimies of scale but what the most important outcomes are.
Do you think that industry is then (ironically) trending back to more focused design and function of robots to specific tasks from the whole generalist hype? For example, Walden and Sunday turning to wheeled bases since manipulation tasks in fixed terrain environments (home and factory) definitely don't require legs.
Perhaps robotics is going to settle in a basin in which we have more capable robots that can generalize to a subset of tasks that are optimal for a specific business instead of the dream of a truly general purpose humanoid.
Very much agree! The humanoid promise is very much that it can do everything, but with compromises (including cost and complexity)
Looks like that's happening right now over at Agility haha
https://www.therobotreport.com/agility-robotics-maker-of-digit-humanoid-exploring-wheeled-robots/
A robot covering its face while running turns out to be a nice lesson in engineering trade-offs.
Humans use their arms to counterbalance their legs. Tien Kung Omni’s shoulders, however, appear better suited to carrying loads than swinging rapidly. So its learned running gait found another solution: smaller arm movements, more torso rotation, and hands up near its face.
Design a joint to win the lifting spec sheet, and you may change how the whole body wants to move.