Humanoid robots shines at InnoEX

A humanoid robot dances to music. Others clap to the beat, or make eye contact through vision sensors with the audience. These bots are all the rage at the third sci-tech exhibition InnoEX at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre from Apr.13 to 16 this year.

Co-organized by the Technology and Industry Bureau and Hong Kong Trade Development Council and themed with “Innovate, Automate and Elevate”, this exhibition spotlights robotics, low-attitude economy, AI, smart mobility, and cybersecurity, according to the official news release.

“These robots can already be applied in certain scenarios like playing football games. They can identify objects and take actions like shots and dribbling.” said Liu Weitong, 32, head of commercialization at Booster Robotics.

“Humanoid robots can provide basic services like guidance and performance, but it will take at least two to three years for the industry to provide mature products for factories or families,” she added.

She explained  the limited load-bearing weight of the robot's arm is such that they cannot be used in  large-scale industrial production. The algorithms at the current level also cannot fully guarantee the safe use of robots in the home.

“Similar to human beings, robots set their goals based on basic logic, such as ‘who am I, where am I right now, and where I should go,” said Calvin Chiu, the COO of Novautek Autonomous Driving Limited, an exhibitor at InnoEX.

“The AI algorithm helps humanoid robots understand the surroundings and connect the decoded information with their goal to guide their action,” Chiu said.

Existing algorithms, he explained, can only let humanoid robots accomplish the goal based on training data. “We still need time to make humanoid robots more widely available to the public,” he said.

Over 500 exhibitors from 17 countries and regions joined the exhibition this year. New participants included Australia, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Sweden and UAE, according to the press release. 

“I am looking forward to seeing these robots become my colleagues in the future,” said David Hong, 34, manager of a technology company, who is a huge fan of the robot’s frontier technology.