Xiaomi has just unveiled one of its most ambitious projects: CyberOne, a human-sized robot capable of walking, grabbing objects and understanding emotions. And the manufacturer promises a commercial version.
During its summer conference intended to present its Mix Fold 2 and Redmi K50 Ultra smartphones, its Buds 4 Pro headphones and its Watch S1 Pro connected watch, Xiaomi reserved a major surprise for its audience, which saw a large robot arrive human on stage! After CyberDog which imitated a dog – without a head – last year, it’s CyberOne’s turn to reveal itself. The humanoid robot is able to walk, grab objects and understand emotions. For the moment, it is only a prototype, but the manufacturer hopes to market it in a consumer version.
CyberOne: a robot supposed to understand emotions
CyberOne was introduced on stage by Xiaomi boss Lei Jun. He arrived with jerky little steps and a flower, which he kindly offered to the presenter. He also performed some Kung-fu moves before taking several selfies with the MIX Fold 2. According to his presentation sheet, the humanoid robot is 1.77 meters tall and weighs 52 kilograms. He moves at a speed of 3.6 km/h, and his body can move with 21 different degrees of freedom, thanks to 13 joints. Its legs are propelled by motors with a maximum torque of 300 Nm, while the motors of its upper limbs have a maximum torque of 1 Nm. Because of this, it can carry objects and bring them back, as it has. made with flower.
His “face” is made up of an Oledincurved panel to which are added two microphones to allow him to hear and two cameras to see in three dimensions. Thanks to its artificial intelligence (AI), it is supposed to learn from its mistakes and detect 45 different types of emotions from human vocal expressions. It remains to be seen all this in action.
CyberOne: a future domestic companion?
In a video presentation, CyberOne can be seen stumbling several times before managing to walk – which is supposed to show its adaptability. He then rushes on the roads – flat and well tarred – and manages to circumvent a branch which blocked his passage – he cannot step over it because of his small strides, which limit his movement – all while crossing various weather conditions. What can replace a human being in particularly difficult situations, such as extreme temperatures or heavy rains? Finally, he avoids a colony of ants and ends up picking a flower.
For the moment, it is only an overpriced prototype – its construction currently amounts to around 90,000 euros – but the Chinese brand hopes to reduce the cost of construction of its CyberOne and the market quickly to the general public. However, one can wonder about the possibility of democratization and the usefulness of this kind of product – Xiaomi is not the only one to try humanoid robotics, Elon Musk had already presented his Tesla Bot last year. last. The presence of humanoid robots is a very present topic in pop culture. It has inspired many dystopias and even raises ethical questions, like in the movie I, Robot and the Robot cycle by Isaac Asimov. What exactly is the goal of developing robots in human form? Replace the man in painful tasks or that he cannot accomplish? Serve as a companion or a means of surveillance? The target audience is not very clear. In any case, Lei Jun does not hide his enthusiasm and plans to invest seriously in this branch of technology.