[lmr]

Well, factories are filled with them. They just aren’t humanoid looking because they don’t need to be.

Duh. I wasn't talking about those Robots. I was talking about the Robots in the video and the article and the picture here. The ones that look humanoid. I understand that there are different robots that are very useful. I was speaking of the usefulness of a humanoid robot, not those other robots which are essentially over-rated CNC machines, anyhow.

[SonOfDarkSkies]

My point is that, for the most part, form follows function in robotics. The Japanese are doing a lot of advanced work on androids because they have identified that as a prospective market (homecare, human services, etc.).

I'm sure there is zero R & D that isn't in some way profit-oriented. And a lot of advanced machinery that has been developed for factories and labs (touch, smell, sight, movement, AI) has direct application for android development.

That said, I have had my doubts about the economic potential of the Japanese android work. Great courage on their part to identify such a bizarre (IMO) market