Hong Kong-based Hanson Robotics unveiled the humanoid robot Sophia in 2016, and it (she) went viral. Saudi Arabia even granted her citizenship in 2017.
The company announced plans to mass-produce Sophia, along with three other new models, in a range of sizes by the end of the year. It aims to sell “thousands” of them. The first batch to be mass-produced should be (st)rolling out of factories by the summer of 2021.
Researchers predicted that the pandemic would open new opportunities for the robotics industry – and it certainly has for Hanson Robotics. Robotic solutions are ideal for the healthcare sector and retail and airline industries.
Sophia said as she conducted a tour of the lab to Reuters:
Social robots like me can take care of the sick or elderly. I can help communicate, give therapy and provide social stimulation, even in difficult situations.
David Hanson, Hanson Robotics founder and chief executive, said as he stood in the lab with Sophia and surrounded by robot heads:
The world of COVID-19 is going to need more and more automation to keep people safe.
Sophia and Hanson robots are unique by being so human-like. That can be so useful during these times where people are terribly lonely and socially isolated.
Johan Hoorn, a social robotics professor at Hong Kong Polytechnic University, whose research has included work with Sophia, said that the technology was still in relative infancy. However, the pandemic could accelerate a bond between humans and robots.
He said:
I can infer the pandemic will actually help us get robots earlier in the market because people start to realize that there is no other way.
Although, the use of robots was steadily on the rise before the pandemic. According to International Federation of Robotics data, worldwide sales of professional-service robots between 2018 and 2019 skyrocketed 32% to $11.2 billion. Those figures likely rose in 2020 during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Robots have been popping up worldwide, helping keep people out of harm’s way. For example, Boston Dynamics’ robot dog Spot was checking people’s vital signs at coronavirus testing centers to minimize healthcare workers’ risk.
One of the three new Hanon Robotics models debuting this year is Grace, specifically designed for the healthcare sector.
Meanwhile, other robotics companies have created products catered to helping the fight against coronavirus. For example, Chinese robotics company CloudMinds helped set up a robot-run field hospital. SoftBank Robotics created a robot called Pepper that walked around cities detecting people who weren’t wearing masks.
