China's tech giants are on a mission to crack one of robotics' most enduring puzzles: creating humanoid robots that can perform everyday tasks with ease. At the heart of this challenge lies the development of highly dexterous robotic hands – an area where Chinese start-ups are making significant strides.
The intricacies of human hands have long been seen as a barrier to replicating their capabilities in machines. With over 200,000 motor neurons and more than 20 muscles working together, our hands enable us to perform complex actions like tying shoelaces or buttoning shirts with ease. Elon Musk's Tesla has made significant progress with its Optimus humanoid, but even he acknowledges that this is "the majority of the engineering difficulty" in robotics.
China's rapid advancements in AI and manufacturing are providing a boost to researchers in this area. The Chinese government has identified 'embodied AI' – robots that can interact physically with their surroundings – as a key driver for future economic growth, particularly given its ageing workforce. State media is hailing the potential for embodied-intelligence robots to unlock new markets worth trillions of yuan.
Despite China's dominance in factory robotics, the practical applications for humanoids remain limited. Experts warn that truly multipurpose humanoids are still a distant prospect, largely due to the current inability of robots to mimic human-like hand dexterity. Companies like LinkerBot, founded by Zhou Yong, are pioneering this field, aiming to produce thousands of advanced robotic hands monthly.
Zhou Yong, founder of LinkerBot, acknowledges the monumental challenge, saying that creating a robotic hand is "one hundred times more difficult" than making a humanoid. However, he's optimistic about the potential for his company's dexterous hands to transform prosthetic limbs, bringing down costs from tens of thousands of pounds to around £800 per hand – making them more accessible to those in need.