Can humanold robots work?

Nicole Kobie introduces five humanoid robots that want to take our jobs, although only one has succeeded - so far

- Nicole Kobie

Robotics demonstrations are always wild: you'll have seen dancing robot dogs, backflipping humanoids and other nightmare-inducing but impressive feats. But the Robbyant R1 just wanted to cook dinner, with its maker Ant Group recently demoing the human-shaped robot assembling a meal of garlic shrimp.

Dig in and even that basic task is less impressive than it sounds. While the robot takes the order, cooks the food and presents it, the prep is all completed beforehand. The Robbyant isn't standing around shelling shrimp or mixing sauces; it merely picks up a small container of ready-made ingredients and dumps it into an appliance sitting on the countertop.

Even that small bit of work happens at a pace so slow you'll be full-on hangry before your meal arrives. Most of the videos on YouTube have actually been sped up - not in obfuscation, but because they'd be long and boring otherwise. One that shows Robbyant's real pace makes for frustrating watching. The robot rolls up holding a white box, taking 17 full seconds to place it down gently onto the countertop and remove its own hands. After another 22 seconds of resetting its arm positions, it manages to pick up a small container - which would presumably hold ingredients but is empty in this video - that it dumps into a blender after another half minute, before slowly pushing a button to start the mixing process. In the background, a man watching the demonstration visibly yawns.

Good luck assembling a lasagne at that pace, mate. It would take years.

This is where we're at with humanoid robots: startups, academics and tech conglomerates alike are leaping over serious hurdles such as natural language and delicate hand movements to achieve impressive improvements in the technology. But the remaining limitations mean such robots aren't yet all that useful. They have found some success in logistics, but by this we mean shuffling boxes.