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Computing Sciences

What an experience! Attending Humanoids 2024 in Nancy, France

— computing_sciences

I recently attended the Humanoids 2024 conference in Nancy, France (November 22nd–24th) to present a paper for the MediaRoboLit 65+ project. The paper addressed accessibility issues in human-robot interaction with the elderly. Initially, I expected to see research mainly related to cute, toy-like robots like Nao and Pepper.

However, the Humanoids conference far exceeded my expectations! Researchers are exploring and implementing various AI models (such as diffusion models and large language models) to make robots more human-like. Although I have ethical concerns about making robots too human-like, it was fascinating to see the researchers’ perspectives. For example, keynote speaker Kento Kawaharazuka explored continuous object state recognition for cooking robots, which could be incredibly useful in our busy lives (I’d definitely buy one!). Another research project explored how to develop exoskeletons that closely resemble human limbs, making them more comfortable to use.

You can check out some of my favorites from the links below:

The highlight of the conference was the humanoid exhibition and competitions! Bipedal and quadrupedal robots competed in a free walk, an obstacle avoidance walk, and an obstacle and door walk. It was entertaining to watch, and some robots became crowd favorites. The exhibition provided a fantastic opportunity to meet various robots and their developers. The Disney research team even brought their BB-8 inspired robot! I also met the Reachy team, who had helped us with the purchase and installation of our own Reachy robot. They were interested in hearing about our experience, and I assured them that Reachy was happy with us! I encountered many other robots, such as Mirokai, Tiago, and UR5.

I could write an entire thesis about my experiences at the conference, but due to time and space constraints, I’ll stop here. . I would encourage robot and AI enthusiasts to attend Humanoids conference at least once to experience difference advances in robotics and AI field we wouldn’t get to know otherwise.

Oh, and I also received the Kanaka Miura Award for young female robotics researchers! Thank you to Humanoids and MediaRoboLit 65+ for this eye-opening experience.

Cheers, Aparajita Chowdhury

Some pictures from robot competitions
Some pictures from robot competitions

 

Kanako Miura Award and Presentation
Kanako Miura Award and Presentation

 

Meeting robots at robot exhibition. Bottom right is Reachy and you can meet him in Robostudio!
Meeting robots at robot exhibition. Bottom right is Reachy and you can meet him in Robostudio!

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