About this Research Topic
Whereas traditional robotic systems have paved the path in various applications and are renewing the landscape of future industry and our societal culture, the main usage of humanoid robot platforms is still confined to laboratory research and development, despite the noticeable advances that are made in various aspects of humanoid technology. The problem that we witness now is that no humanoid platform is readily available to make such a jump, and more importantly, only very few private companies seem to be strongly willing to build such systems for effective business.
The aim of this Research Topic is to gather papers around a topic of high importance in humanoid research and development: how far are we in achieving humanoid robots or transfer humanoid technology for real-world applications? What are the ingredients that make such an endeavour possible? What are the bottlenecks in terms of research and development that could make such a perspective a viable one? Therefore, this Research Topic will gather a set of the main representative actors in current projects of well-identified end-users of humanoid technology and those industries that can potentially build it. The idea is to share opinion not only on the research perspectives but also on the non-said practical issues. For instance:
• What business-plans are possible for humanoid robots?
• How to build a cost-effective humanoid robot despite the complexity of the structure?
• What inhibits well-known robotic arm providers to build and commercialize humanoid robots?
• What holds back companies that already have the technology to go further with innovation plans?
• From industrial viewpoints, on which aspects research and development of humanoids should focus?
Examples of themes relevant to this Research Topic include, but are not limited to:
• Large-scale manufacturing humanoid robots
• Humanoids as cobots (comanoids)
• Hardware design of robust humanoid robots as effective commercial products with targeted applications
• Life-long and robust walking control
• Robust sensing and perception for humanoid robots
• Humanoid robots as highly articulated mobile manipulators
• Practical and envisioned applications of humanoid robots
• Limitations of humanoids and comparison to other potential platforms
• Limiting factors (social perception, economic stakes, political stakes, etc.)
The aim of this Research Topic is to gather papers around a topic of high importance in humanoid research and development: how far are we in achieving humanoid robots or transfer humanoid technology for real-world applications? What are the ingredients that make such an endeavour possible? What are the bottlenecks in terms of research and development that could make such a perspective a viable one? Therefore, this Research Topic will gather a set of the main representative actors in current projects of well-identified end-users of humanoid technology and those industries that can potentially build it. The idea is to share opinion not only on the research perspectives but also on the non-said practical issues. For instance:
• What business-plans are possible for humanoid robots?
• How to build a cost-effective humanoid robot despite the complexity of the structure?
• What inhibits well-known robotic arm providers to build and commercialize humanoid robots?
• What holds back companies that already have the technology to go further with innovation plans?
• From industrial viewpoints, on which aspects research and development of humanoids should focus?
Examples of themes relevant to this Research Topic include, but are not limited to:
• Large-scale manufacturing humanoid robots
• Humanoids as cobots (comanoids)
• Hardware design of robust humanoid robots as effective commercial products with targeted applications
• Life-long and robust walking control
• Robust sensing and perception for humanoid robots
• Humanoid robots as highly articulated mobile manipulators
• Practical and envisioned applications of humanoid robots
• Limitations of humanoids and comparison to other potential platforms
• Limiting factors (social perception, economic stakes, political stakes, etc.)
Keywords: Humanoid Robots, Industrial Robots, Collaborative Robots, Comanoids, Robots in Industry
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
