But overall, the panel is quite optimistic. Along with three professors in robotics - Professor Bram Vanderborght (Brussels University), Professor Tony Belpaeme (Ghent University) and Professor Hiroshi Ishiguro (Osaka University) - Jeroen Van Godtsenhoven discusses the need for humanoid robots compared to the functional machines that build our cars today.
All panelists agree that humanoid robots are a good thing, even when their primary function doesn’t require them to be ‘recognizable’.
“No one is going to talk to a disc cleaning the room” - Professor Tony Belpaeme, Ghent University.
“Our brain is hardwired to recognize human faces. We don’t need a manual to interact with a human robot” - Professor Hiroshi Ishiguro, Osaka University and creator of his own humanoid ‘twin’ robot.
“The next generation of technology will put the human at the center. We’ll be able to communicate not only with speech, but with gestures as well.” - Bram Vandenborght, Brussels University.
Check out the highlights of this panel discussion in the summary video: