2023 brings humans a step closer to a future with robots

Robotics companies around the world this year made strides towards AI-powered robots that can churn out human-like writing and speech.

AI popstar robot Desdemona is powered by a large language model (the same technology behind ChatGPT) and it can mimic human writing by processing a large database of text using AI.

“Robots are amazing. We can do things that humans can’t,” said the humanoid robot at this year’s Web Summit.

There’s also the Artificially Intelligent Critical Canine (AICCA), a robot dog that can analyse art, “pooping out” criticism by printing under its tail.

The robot was created by German artist Mario Klingemann who wanted to provocatively debate the use of AI.

Klingemann says the dog analyses art just like an art critic would.

“It will take a closer look and analyse it, look for forms, shapes, abstract concepts,” said Klingemann.

“It tries to extract all these and turn them into a text prompt, in which it tells GPT, in the best way possible.”

Robotics experts say more robots will help humans across multiple industries.

The robot chef developed by researchers at the University of Cambridge is one that could contribute to the culinary industry. It can learn recipes by watching cooking videos and using computer vision.

According to the researchers, the robot can analyse each frame of video, and identify different objects and features, such as the knife, the ingredients, as well as the human chef’s arms, hands and face.

In a remote region of the Peruvian Amazon, a tree-planting robot helped restore forests, amid deteriorating deforestation in the Amazon due to logging and agribusiness.

The robot, YuMi, can plant 600 seeds within hours according to its developers.

They controlled the robot in the Amazon remotely from 12,000 km away in Sweden using cloud technology.

The non-profit organisation in the region, Junglekeepers, says YuMi helped the locals “battle together”.

“The mining, the logger, they have advanced technology. They can destroy so much. So if we have robots here to help plant trees and local people would be involved and learn the technology, it’ll be like pretty much battling together,” said Juan Julio Duran Torres, Vice President of Junglekeepers.

Robots may also help humans with relaxation and quality sleep.

Fufuly is a robotic cushion that can mimic a slow breathing pattern. It’s designed to comfort users who synchronise their breath with it.

“So if this is breathing deeply and if you’re holding it, you will naturally start to breathe more slowly also, so it helps you wind down,” said Hiroko Sato, a representative of Yukai Engineering.

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Video editor • Roselyne Min