Human-Inspired Robots

Future robots will work in hospitals, elderly care centers, schools, and homes. Similarity with humans can facilitate interaction with a variety of users who don't have robotics expertise, so it make sense to take inspiration from humans when developing robots. However, humanlike appearance can also be deceiving, convincing users that robots can understand and do much more than they actually can. Developing a humanlike appearance must go hand in hand with increasing robots' cognitive, social, and perceptive capabilities. This installment of Trends & Controversies explores different aspects of human-inspired robots.