The former helmsman of the newly-joined $3 trillion club is a big fan of humanoid robots

This week, Microsoft's stock price in the U.S. broke through $400. As of January 25, Microsoft's (MSFT) stock price was 404.87, and its total market value exceeded $3 trillion. While surpassing Apple to become the first in market value, it also became the second company in history to enter the $3 trillion club.

As early as July 2023, securities analyst Dan Ives stated in a research report that Microsoft (MSFT) should become a member of the $3 trillion club along with Apple (AAPL) in early 2024, and believed that the monetization of artificial intelligence should drive the stock price higher.

Last year, a powerful generative artificial intelligence, ChatGPT, became popular around the world. ChatGPT was developed by OpenAI, and Microsoft is holding this AIGC star enterprise. In 2023, Microsoft invested a total of US$13 billion in OpenAI. The industry believes that ChatGPT will become Microsoft's "next growth point", and now Microsoft's entry into the 3 trillion club is a confirmation of this view.

On January 23, 2024, Bill Gates, co-founder and former chairman of Microsoft, published an analysis and insight on Robots on his website GatesNotes. He said he was excited about the potential of current robotics technology and mentioned several startups and laboratories related to robotics, three of which were mainly engaged in the development of humanoid robots.

Agility Robotic

The first one to be mentioned is Agility Robotic. You must have seen the working videos of their Digit robot on the Internet.

Digit is a handling robot used in warehousing and logistics environments . Its original design was to solve the problems faced by current human labor, such as work-related injuries, fatigue work, high staff turnover rate, and rising labor costs. Let robots replace people to perform repetitive tasks such as handling, loading and unloading, and sorting, and collaborate with people to complete more advanced tasks, which can greatly improve the production efficiency of enterprises and reduce production costs.

When designing Digit, the team called it "the first human-centric, multi-purpose robot designed specifically for logistics work", so it has a body shape and size similar to that of humans, can go to places where humans reach, work with humans, and can carry heavier loads and stretch its "arms" to reach shelves where humans need ladders.

Currently, Digit is undergoing a "big test" in Amazon warehouses. The BFI1 operations center in Sumner is testing the use of Digit humanoid robots to work collaboratively with employees. Digit is responsible for recycling Amazon's iconic yellow boxes in the warehouse and handing these empty boxes to employees. When the items inside are emptied, they will recycle these empty boxes and put them on the shelves.

Apptronik

Apptronik is the second humanoid robot company mentioned by Bill Gates. It is the research result of the Robotics Laboratory of the University of Texas at Austin. Their Apollo humanoid robot can be programmed to complete a variety of tasks, not only moving boxes in factories, but also doing housework.

One of Apollo's biggest advantages is that it can run third-party software, so new features can be obtained with just a software update.

When Apptronik was first established in 2004, the company was mainly funded by multiple government and private sector projects to develop technology for exoskeletons and logistics arms, which also laid the foundation for the company's subsequent development of humanoid robots.

In 2020, Apptronik's first half-body humanoid robot was launched. In 2022, the company's first fully electric humanoid was successfully released. In 2023, the full form of the Apollo humanoid robot was officially unveiled.

According to statistics, the number of boxes picked in the logistics industry will exceed 180 billion in 2022. Box picking consumes a lot of space, labor and special equipment. This process requires endless walking and heavy lifting, resulting in long-term labor shortages, high turnover rates and insufficient inventory space.

The birth of the Apollo general-purpose robot allows the robot to work together with the AMR automatic transport vehicle to fully automate the box picking process. From then on, there is no need for humans to walk long distances, lift and move heavy boxes, or pull pallet transport equipment.

AMR can only provide partial automation, but when combined with humanoid robots, it can form a complete automated warehouse transportation solution.

RoMeLa ARTEMIS

The third humanoid robot mentioned is a football player who participated in the RoboCup, an international football competition held in France in July 2023.

The ARTEMIS humanoid robot was designed by a research team at the UCLA Robotics Laboratory (RoMeLa) with the goal of creating a robot that could navigate rocky and unstable terrain and maintain balance without falling.

One of ARTEMIS's key innovations is its actuators, custom-designed devices that use energy to generate movement similar to biological muscles. In contrast to the rigid, position-controlled actuators found in most robots, they are elastic and force-controlled.

Secondly, ARTEMIS actuators are mainly powered by electricity rather than controlled by a hydraulic system. The ARTEMIS humanoid robot's ability to respond and adapt to its perception comes from its sensor and actuator system. It has custom-designed force sensors on each foot, and an orientation device and camera on the head to ensure the robot's balance and perception of the surrounding environment during movement.

Humanoid motion is an important topic that humanoid robots have been tackling. The ARTEMIS humanoid robot that can play football undoubtedly represents a major breakthrough in robot humanoid sports.

Conclusion

Which is harder, the way humans move or the way humans think? If this question was asked ten years ago, many people would have answered the way humans think, but now AIGC is developing at an unimaginable speed. Computers can already create, calculate, process, understand, decide, recognize patterns, and continue to learn in a way similar to our own.

While the robot's brain has achieved leapfrog development, the robot's flexibility has not yet fully kept up with the pace. The future development direction of humanoid robots will seek breakthroughs in mobility to ensure that humanoid robots can be successfully used in the physical world of humans.