When it comes to the real world today, they’re still outliers: Most robot systems that are in use today aren’t humanoid, but rather look like this:
These non-humanoid robots, which are not necessarily “smart” (i.e. using technologies such as AI), are built for a single task. The goal with humanoid robots, especially of those that also use AI and are self-learning, is that these robots can be used for a very wide range of tasks.
Smart humanoid robots could be used in manufacturing settings, for example, where they can assemble parts of an automobile. Or they could be used in a logistics facility, where they pack boxes in an Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) warehouse. Or they could be used in a restaurant, where they pour drinks or clean tables.
Smart humanoid robots could even be used outside of commercial settings, e.g. as household helpers or in the healthcare field. There are gigantic possibilities for smart humanoid robots over the coming years and decades.
One of the companies getting significant attention in the smart humanoid robotics space is Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA). While Tesla started out as an electric vehicle company, it has branched out into different areas, such as energy storage and solar over the years, with robotics being one of the newest business units. Its Optimus humanoid robot (not yet for sale) looks like this:
We see the typical human-like features, like a torso, two legs, two arms, and a type of “head”. Tesla plans to have Optimus be able to do all kinds of tasks, which will allow Tesla to use its Optimus robots in its own production plants, but Tesla also wants to sell its robots to customers in the future.
Investing in the Smart Humanoid Robots Trend
Smart humanoid robots are not yet a huge market, but thanks to the many possibilities of this technology, this is a market with extensive growth potential. Investors can invest in the manufacturers of these robots directly, such as Tesla, but there might be an even better way.
After all, smart humanoid robots that can do all kinds of tasks require a huge number of sensors – a walking, communicating robot that delivers mail, for example, always needs to be sure of its surroundings. All the data that these sensors collect needs to be analyzed and processed, which requires massive computing power. In order to make the robots “smart”, which will be needed to teach them different tasks, there is a lot of need for Artificial Intelligence technologies.
Companies that will power these technologies – semiconductor companies that build sensors, semiconductor companies that build processors, and companies that are active in Artificial Intelligence on the hardware side and the software side come to mind – will benefit from the growth of the smart humanoid robot market in the future.
Naturally, NVIDIA (NASDAQ: NVDA) is one of the best choices to benefit from this trend: Its data center chips are needed to train the algorithms behind smart robots, and its smaller chips can be used inside the robots themselves to function as their “brains”. Investors can also choose among some of our other Artificial Intelligence picks to benefit from increased Artificial Intelligence usage that will power the smart humanoid robots trend.
