Google DeepMind unveiled a new model this week that gives humanoid robots finer control over how they interact with objects around them. Promotional videos show a robot doing complicated tasks like tying a trash bag and screwing a small lightbulb, suggesting we’re a step closer to general-purpose robotics — where humanoids can accomplish more than repetitive, pre-programmed tasks.
The advancements point to the West’s lead over China in robotics software — the “brains” that power an android. But there will be fewer bodies for those brains to go into, at least in the US, after Washington this week banned new foreign humanoids and quadrupeds. There simply aren’t that many US-made robots yet, and many American researchers and startups use Chinese hardware to train and test their own tech.
“People are going to be pretty stuck in terms of options,” China tech expert Kyle Chan told Semafor. He worries the ban will slow down American innovation, and could push some research to Europe, where it’s easier to get a Chinese bot.
It could take years for US robot-makers to stand up a non-Chinese supply chain, given Beijing’s hardware dominance. And if the US’ goal is to build a fully made-in-America pipeline for robots, Chan said, “it’s really, to put it bluntly, a hopeless cause.”