Shanghai Start-up Unveils World’s First Mass-Produced Humanoid Robot at WAIC
It was a picturesque day in Shanghai; the excitement hung in the air over the ninth World Artificial Intelligence Conference as the local robotics start-up “Fourier Intelligence” stole the spectators’ gaze with the GR-1. This is, no exaggeration, the world’s first mass-produced humanoid robot, which means we shall now have to answer questions we previously enjoyed categorizing as science.
Surely enough, GR-1 is not even a machine. It walks fast, about 5 kilometers per hour, and can carry up to 50 kilograms! This marks a significant step for Fourier Intelligence, initially known for rehab bots but now entering the humanoid market.
Robotics Company in China is working on making human-like robots in their factory. PIC.TWITTER.COM/TGFIILKU38
— Daily Loud (@DailyLoud) MAY 13, 2024
Fourier, established in 2015, has transcended the field of robotics with its inventive products, demonstrating its ingenuity by developing products such as intelligent exercise bicycles and Wi-Fi robotic mitts. The quest of humanoid evolution exemplifies their aspiration to develop robots with unmatched versatility.
With China’s rapidly rising humanoid robot market, the domination of the handful of star firms is complemented by the growth of a blooming ecosystem. Firms like EX Robots and Astribot are connected to Fourier by just a few degrees, but they have each introduced impressive changes. For example, EX Robots’ hyper-realistic humanoid has beaten more or less every other enterprise robot. Uncannily realistic facial reactions and flawless social interaction do a superb job. Astribot, for its part, responsibly acquired its niche: the S1 model’s dexterity and precise motions are both noteworthy achievements.
The market of humanoid robots in China is growing at an unimaginable speed. From 2.1 billion in 2020, the market is estimated to rise up to 7.9 billion in 2025, only in a couple of years. Some enterprises apply generative AI in order to expedite the creation. LimX Dynamics is a company from Shenzhen utilizing this development to produce a different assistant for factories and for people at their houses.
Despite these developments, there is a problem or two. Firstly, the very well-known phenomenon of the uncanny valley. In many people, a robot appears with humanlike characteristics evokes a gut-wrenching feeling. Most importantly, even with highly likely, “mass-production” we are still a long way from having machines with truly human-like abilities.
By the dawn of humanoid robots, China’s ambition is far larger – it is the future of robots in everything, from the whirling factories to every aspect of public services. In this hot industry, the possibility of robots blending into human everyday life as actual entities with breath, thought, and decision grows near and approaches the realm of possibility, where the possibilities before now were isolated to science fiction, but already, it is manifest to imagine Him engage in daily assistants.
