From the Human Machine to the Machine Man

By Abderrahmane Kheddar (Montpellier Laboratory of Computer Science, Robotics, and Microelectronics).

One way to understand how we think and interact with our environment is to try to replicate our capabilities. For example, by designing a kind of functional copy of ourselves—a cybernetic avatar that uses robotic technology and artificial intelligence to emulate our behaviors as well as our motor and perceptual abilities. Humanoid robots have real potential for use in numerous applications; nevertheless, they are also a tool for studying fundamental questions related to humanity’s eternal quest for enhancement. Their form gives them interesting properties in terms of integration, interaction, empathy, and embodiment. Embodiment is a characteristic that goes beyond robotic telepresence technologies: its mechanisms and effective characterization are far from being well understood. Yet this understanding is very important for bionic robotics technologies and wearable robotics in general.