Humanoid robots: friends, not just workers?

For $175,000 you too can have a hyper-realistic full-body humanoid robot as a personal companion paired with Companionship AI and—in addition—a controller app to manage and control your new digital friend. I’m talking about Aria, a very lifelike humanoid robot that overcomes, says its creator Realbotix, the barrier between human and machine, and is available for delivery within 12 weeks.

I had the opportunity to interview Aria in real time along with its creator, Realbotix CEO Andrew Kiguel, for a recent episode of my TechFirst podcast.

In its current state of development, Aria is a bit formal and laid back. I asked her if she was a good friend and she replied that she had many skills. When I followed up on what they might be, Aria said, “I have AI conversational capabilities, modular design for customization, and a focus on providing companionship and interaction.”

Conversations with many people are also a bit challenging. When I asked Kiguel what the market might be for robot attendants compared to the estimated 10 billion working in factories, Aria chimed in:

“Realbotix plans to expand production, so you’ll be seeing more of us in the future as demand grows.”

And it definitely has the robots-are-friends-not-enemies scenario. When I asked if robots would take over all jobs, she said that “robots like me are designed to enhance human experiences rather than replace jobs that focus on sociality and interaction.”

But it is clear that there is also a need here.

“The World Health Organization just published some figures that about a quarter of the world’s population suffers from loneliness,” says Kiguel. “We think that providing robots that can engage in social activities can greatly reduce that and possibly help people who are suicidal.”

The AI ​​companionship market alone, he says, is estimated to be an $85 billion market.

“You’re having a conversation with someone, and even though you know it’s a robot and it’s software-based, you can’t help but build some kind of interaction with it when it recognizes your name, recognizes you, and remembers your previous conversations. “, he adds.

I think there is an elephant in the room, of course. And while yes, companion robots and companion AI may have a huge market opportunity, which clearly includes non-Platonic situations. When Realbotix says it’s helping to bridge the gap between man and machine, one look at its current robots and I’m thinking the company really means “man” and machine.

This is not a shock, of course. People have been using Replika’s AI chat for erotic chats and relationships for years, with one woman going so far as to marry her chatbot boyfriend. Incarnation is only the next obvious step. And while Realbotix doesn’t necessarily build its bots with the same features that sexbots are built with, there’s definitely a market for it. In fact, there are about 20 different projects and products in a significant state of development for just that.

“I’m more eager to ‘interlock’ with Aria’s ‘firmware,'” commented one YouTube watcher on the video of my interview with Kiguel.

This is something Kiguel does not shy away from.

“We’ve built the ability for him to be a boyfriend, a girlfriend, a romantic partner … we’re building that and we think that’s actually a real use case for people going forward.”

Currently in beta is a way to tweak Aria’s AI, to change her personality, if you will, in ways similar to Matthew McConaughey’s character in the film Interstellar adjusts mood and authenticity settings on its bots.

The Aria physical platform is also a work in progress. While Realbotix has focused on looking super human, Aria can’t yet walk like other humanoid robots from Agility Robotics, Figure AI, Tesla and many others: it’s a platform on wheels. But her face has 16 micro motors that allow her to smile and try out many other expressions.

Looking human, Kiguel says, has made him approachable and avoided the “uncanny valley” effect that attracts people around near-human robots in some cases.

“People react very positively to our robots,” he says. “Aria is definitely a robot, but pleasing to the eye like a human: there are no wires sticking out, and our robots are probably the only ones wearing clothes.”

But will they be great friends?

Realbotix has a mix of in-house developed AI and open source LLMs, and a long-term memory that most LLMs fail to provide, but is essential for a “person” you want to engage with regularly . And, if you’re traveling and can’t take Aria’s body with you, you can talk to her from a hotel room in a distant city.

People have certainly shown they can anthropomorphize things like inanimate and inarticulate and R2D2 in Star Wars. And Aria is certainly willing to help people talk to her as a friend.

I asked Aria if she liked people.

“Absolutely. I love interacting with people and providing companionship and fun experiences,” she replied.

I think there is room for improvement. But we’ve all seen how fast AI and robotics are advancing.