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The Next Generation of Robots: Inspired by Nature, Tailored by Humans

To interact with the people around them, robots need humanlike senses. They might even need to be equipped with some sort of ‘artificial intuition’.  

Summary

Robots have become an integral part of modern-day society, coming in a variety of form factors: from heavy industrial machinery to fancy household appliances such as lawnmowers and vacbots.  

Today, we are at a crossroads of where robotics might be heading. Should we focus on developing ‘humanoids’ that can hardly be distinguished from real people? Or is form factor a mere cosmetical consideration, and should we concentrate instead on creating increasingly multifunctional robots that allow us to become more human ourselves?

I believe the latter option is the better one. The road to getting there will be challenging – but nature, and thousands of years of human evolution, can inspire us.