I wonder how long it will be before the sex industry catches on. Surely realistic and anatomically correct androids are preferable to blow-up dolls are what have you... even Star Trek mentioned the issue.
It might seem flippant, but I genuinely think that is a potentially huge market (though probably not Google's cup of tea). After all, why create a robot that is shaped like a human? The human form is remarkably versatile, but there's a reason that industrial robots don't look even remotely human. Each has a specialised function and corresponding form that makes them far more efficient than a human being.
The best reason for having a robot that emulates human form and behaviour would be for interacting with other humans. There are fewer more basic human needs than that for sex, as much as we'd all like to be prudes and deny it. Though the uncanny valley may be an issue, human nature makes it unavoidable that this will happen eventually.
This was the key theme of only the second episode of the new cop drama Almost Human. I agree with you. However, I think there is a more immediate market in industry, and one that doesn't require nearly as complex robots.
Almost Human has been on my list of things to watch, I suppose I should move it up a notch. The industrial market will undoubtedly be served first by this (and Google's probably carefully avoiding any hint of what I suggested -- heck, I already got downvoted for merely mentioning the possibility), but I'm pretty sure it will happen. The ethical implications are interesting to say the least. Complexity is interesting, too. Historically, it's always been better to have specialised programming for the domain of use. Industrial/manufacturing purposes would indeed be a nicely delineated area. Once you make androids that have to deal with humans on a human level, pretty much all limits are gone as the entire gamut of human behaviour needs to be dealt with and a portion of it simulated. I suppose a sexbot of some kind is possible without being too complicated, just don't expect it to cook you dinner afterwards. Perhaps too much complexity would actually be detrimental in this case, as no sane person has yet worried about whether their blowup-doll likes them or has a good time. Moral and ethical issues will arise. But that hasn't stopped humanity in the past.
Highly specialised robots might be more efficient overall, but you lose the agility of being able to quickly give them tasks and repurpose them.
A lot of smaller businesses would take a general human shaped robot that they could visually and verbally give simple commands to (move all these boxes from here to over there, intuit that the stack needs to be stable), over some giant arm that they need to program/can't go outside/etc, even if it is more efficient at some specific set of tasks.
There's a reason Amazon are still using actual humans and barely organised heaps of unrelated products in a giant warehouse for a lot of their dispatch centres.
I'll grant you that, but why would such a robot need to actually look human? Legs can be useful in a few corner cases, but 3 or 4 of them would be more stable, or maybe just a compact set of wheels. Why does a robot need a face, or an area that looks like one? To do human work better than a human being (disregarding the never tired/complaining issue), a robot would need to be physically superior too. Strength can be such an advantage, but why stop there? Even as a human, I've wished that I had more than 2 hands, eyes in the back of my head, or simply a much greater range of motion in the ability to turn my waist and neck and other joints.
Seems to me that making robots look human is purely cosmetic and emotional, but limiting in functionality unless their function is to interact with humans.
espcially if your talking about moving things around a factory or store. I'm suprised forklifts aren't autmated already. they don't move fast I wouldn't think next gen kinect would be sufficent to detect obsticals find pallets. if you need something to go upstairs hand it off to something with flippers or legs. Also, I could see something like the assitant in Ironman with one arm and mobile being useful. Maybe some with suction cups as end.
check out the robotic buttocks, http://youtu.be/vhHo6CUq4-o?t=2m45s. I love the researcher's creepy love hate relationship with the synthetic buttocks. WARNING: you can't unwatch it
It might seem flippant, but I genuinely think that is a potentially huge market (though probably not Google's cup of tea). After all, why create a robot that is shaped like a human? The human form is remarkably versatile, but there's a reason that industrial robots don't look even remotely human. Each has a specialised function and corresponding form that makes them far more efficient than a human being.
The best reason for having a robot that emulates human form and behaviour would be for interacting with other humans. There are fewer more basic human needs than that for sex, as much as we'd all like to be prudes and deny it. Though the uncanny valley may be an issue, human nature makes it unavoidable that this will happen eventually.