Why are we so fixated on creating humanoid robots, rather than other more practical forms?

Hey, that's an excellent question! Indeed, you see robot vacuums for cleaning and articulated arms in factories; they are incredibly efficient in their specific roles. So why are we still putting so much effort into developing humanoid robots?

This issue needs to be looked at from several perspectives:

1. Because Our World Is Designed for "Humanoids"

This is the most fundamental and practical point.

Think about it: everything around us – the height of stair steps, the position of doorknobs, the height of tables and chairs, all the tools we use (hammers, screwdrivers, keyboards), and even the driver's seat in a car – is designed according to the structure and dimensions of the human body.

If a robot looks like us, has two legs to climb stairs, and two hands to open doors and pick up our tools, then it can directly use all our facilities and tools, seamlessly integrating into our living and working environments.

Conversely, if a robot is wheeled, how would it climb stairs? If it's a "box," how would it hand you a glass of water? To enable a non-humanoid robot to perform various complex tasks, we might need to redesign our entire homes, factories, or even cities, and that cost would be prohibitive.

Therefore, building humanoid robots isn't about making robots accommodate us; it's about enabling robots to adapt to the world we've already built. This is where the greatest "practicality" lies.

2. For More Natural Collaboration and Communication

Humans are social creatures. We are naturally able to communicate by observing others' facial expressions and body language. A nod, a wave, a glance – we understand what they mean.

Humanoid robots can leverage this, making it easier for us to accept and understand them, and making interactions more comfortable. Imagine a robot caring for the elderly in a hospital: if it looks human and can make comforting gestures, wouldn't that be more reassuring than a cold robotic arm or a square box? In the service industry, a humanoid robot that can give directions or hand over items in a way we're familiar with would also provide a much better experience.

When robots need to enter core human environments like homes and communities, "looking human" itself becomes a very important function.

3. The Goal Is to Become the "Ultimate General-Purpose Platform"

Specialized robots, like robot vacuums or industrial robotic arms, are "specialists." They are unbeatable in their specific fields, but ask them to do something else, and they're completely useless.

The direction humanoid robots are striving for is to become a "generalist," a "jack-of-all-trades."

Just like your smartphone: it can make calls, take photos, navigate, play games... It might not be the best at any single task (a professional camera takes better photos, a gaming console offers a better gaming experience), but its power lies in its ability to "do everything."

Humanoid robots are the same. Their goal isn't to surpass specialized equipment in a particular task, but to become a versatile tool capable of performing multiple tasks. Today, it can help you clean; tomorrow, it can pick up your package; the day after, it can even play ball with you. This versatility is something other robot forms find hard to achieve.

4. It Is the "Mount Everest" of Robotics Technology

From a research perspective, building a truly competent humanoid robot is an enormous challenge, encompassing almost all top-tier problems in robotics:

• Bipedal Locomotion: Maintaining balance and walking smoothly on just two legs is extremely complex.
• Dexterous Manipulation: Mimicking the dexterity of human hands, being able to pick up an egg yet also swing a hammer, is incredibly difficult.
• Perception and Cognition: Being able to "understand" and "interpret" this complex world, and make judgments and react like a human, is a core challenge in artificial intelligence.

Precisely because it is such a difficult ultimate goal, the process of striving to conquer this "technological peak" will give rise to countless new technologies, new materials, and new algorithms. The technological achievements generated during this process (such as better sensors, stronger motors, smarter AI algorithms) can then be applied to various other "more practical" robots, thereby driving the development of the entire robotics industry.

So, to summarize:

Our persistence with humanoid robots is not because they are the strongest in "single tasks," but because they have the potential to be the most "versatile," capable of directly integrating into the world we've built for ourselves. At the same time, this challenging goal itself is a powerful engine for technological progress.