Will C3-PO, R2-D2 or Iron Man robots ever really exist?

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Star Wars heroes R2D2 and C3PO – Jonathan Short / AP / SIPA

  • Thursday, the Montpellier association Science Animation will give the floor, in a conference broadcast on YouTube, to experts, who will dissect the robot stars of science fiction.
  • Will C-3PO, R2-D2 or Iron Man ever exist? Why not. But some features will still require a lot of work from researchers.
  • Robots today are capable of performing simple missions, but cannot yet take initiatives or express emotions.

What if the robots imagined by the masters of science fiction became reality? Thursday (7 p.m.), live on Youtube, association
Science Animation will give voice to robotics experts, who will dissect the machines popularized by the cinema and the series: Iron Man, C-3PO, R2-D2, Wall-E … Just to put the oil in your mouth, 20 minutes asked Vincent Creuze, lecturer and researcher at the computer science, robotics and microelectronics laboratory in Montpellier (Lirmm), to look into the possibility of these machines coming to life.

The answer is… why not. But some key features of these heroes, which are their charm (and their strength) will still require a lot of work from researchers. First, what already exists (or almost). If our smartphones do not master millions of forms of communication as C-3PO often boasts, in Star wars, translation applications allow more than one tourist to get out of the panad, abroad. “It’s the same thing,” points out Vincent Creuze.

“Today, machines do not think”

And when R2-D2 performs simple mechanic missions, that’s also possible. “A robot that knows how to drive a car, for example, we know how to do,” continues the researcher. At Lirmm, colleagues have created a robot capable of getting behind the wheel, pressing the brake pedal or the clutch. The Army has also put forward, Tuesday, on Twitter, a robot, called Barakuda, capable of carrying a ton of material, and which can even be equipped with a shield. We are not very far from some basic features of the little robot, which accompanies Luke Skywalker in his adventures.

And then there is what is not currently possible. ” In Iron Man, the armor takes initiatives, anticipates, reflects, notes Vincent Creuze. Today, machines don’t think. They only perform planned tasks, their behaviors are planned. And even when it comes to artificial intelligence: once the machine has, for example, recognized an object, it does not make a decision on its own. »So the scenes, in Star wars, where we see robots discussing among themselves to develop a strategy, it is not tomorrow the day before. “That we one day come across robots of this type, like C3-PO, walking in the street, without a doubt,” continues the researcher. But for them to be able to take initiatives themselves, it will still take some time. “

Iron Man – SOPA Images / SIPA

“The robot can only simulate an emotion”

The robots that exist today are also not capable of feeling and expressing any emotion. Joy at R2-D2, who stamps his feet on the spot, fear at C3-PO, that does not exist. “The robot can only simulate an emotion”, continues the researcher. Like connected speakers, “programmed to give the impression that they have a certain sensitivity”. But “a real emotion, an attachment to his master, that cannot exist today”, notes Vincent Creuze.

Another problem: their autonomy. “Humanoid robots today last about twenty minutes,” explains the Montpellier expert. If it was to be longer, they would have to carry their own batteries. And there, we enter a vicious circle: the more they will carry heavy batteries, the more energy it will consume. “

A future for humanoid robots?

There is, finally, a limit to the creation of humanoids: sometimes, putting eyes, arms and legs to a machine, it is useless in real life. Whereas in the movies, this is (almost) always the case. In the cinema, “we sometimes see robots making other robots in factories,” notes Vincent Creuze. That does not make sense. We will instead install robotic arms, faster and more precise. In the industrial underwater environment, for example, some valves can be handled by large robots. We’re not going to bother creating humanoid robots. “

On the other hand, to assist an elderly person at home, because there are stairs to climb, buttons, handles… And because it will be better accepted, creating a humanoid machine makes sense. So C3-PO at Mamie, yes. But before he chatted with her from the last episode of More beautiful life, there is still work to be done.





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