Lieven Scheire - Robots (Try-out)

In Robots tells Lieven Scheire about the humanoid robot, its history, its rapid evolution in recent years, and its promising future. You can think doom-and-gloom about it, you can think hopefully about it, but everything starts with a thorough introduction to these wonderful machines. This show is for everyone aged 16 and up. The humanoid: a robot with arms and legs that has the shape of a human. For hundreds of years, it has populated our stories and films. But it won’t be long before you encounter such a robot in real life: at work, somewhere on the street, or perhaps even at home. Over the past three years, humanoids have undergone an enormous evolution. Suddenly, they have a well-functioning balance system, can perform acrobatic jumps, navigate unknown terrain, and easily recognize objects, people, and situations. Why is it going so fast now? Thanks to AI and digital neural networks. The first humanoids are now on assembly lines in factories, they are occasionally seen at events, and the long-awaited household robot is also currently being fully tested. The coming years will be make-or-break for the humanoid. Will it remain a promising technology that just can’t seem to get the final details right? Or will it succeed and suddenly become affordable for anyone who wants one? What are the consequences for the labor market, public space, and our daily lives at home? May humanoids also be deployed militarily? And is it a good idea to give AI a body, let alone thousands of bodies?