From Science Fiction to Reality: The Evolution of General-Purpose Robots

Robots are the quintessential piece of many science fiction television shows and movies. "Danger, Will Robinson," may be one of the more classic lines from old science fiction television shows, originally spoken by a little boy's robot friend in a television classic from the 1960s. C3PO, the famous golden droid of Star Wars fame, was as much a character in the show as his Wookiee and human friends.

The Lost in Space robot and the Star Wars droids are great, albeit fictional, examples of general-purpose robots that can handle varied tasks and have a basic form of intelligence.

This type of robot is quickly moving from the realm of science fiction into the world of reality.

Robots and Sci-Fi: A Perfect Match

The idea of robots that can take over what humans do isn't a new one. The concepts that evolved into our modern sci-fi robot began coalescing in the early 20th century. Sci-fi robots likely grew out of automata: these real-world and often humanoid constructions have been around since the 1700s. They could be mechanized, but they never had agency or the ability to think.

Sci-fi robots added some level of thinking intelligence to fictional automatons, and the modern “beep boop system malfunction” robot was born. (A bit later the more sinister “destroy or enslave humanity” variety hit the sci-fi mainstream, but let’s ignore that version, shall we?)

By the 1960s, with The Jetsons cartoon and the Dalek villains of Doctor Who fame, robots became a major factor in science fiction works. And in the decades since, sci-fi portrayals of humanoid robots have grown increasingly complex and nuanced, including with humanoids that grapple with learning human emotions (or that think they are in fact human).

“Today’s science fiction is tomorrow’s science fact”

This well-known maxim (often but inconclusively attributed to Isaac Asimov) is proving true once again.

You'll already find real-world robots in manufacturing centers, car assembly lines, and surgery centers, but these don’t look or act much like the robots of our sci-fi future. Robots have gotten quite good at performing one task repeatedly, often with greater precision than a human could.

The one thing that has been missing is intelligence—until now.

The advent of AI is creating a world where the general-purpose intelligent robot may actually become reality—and sooner than you might think.

Sanctuary Cognitive Systems Corporate Launches the First General Purpose AI Robot

In 2018 Sanctuary Cognitive Systems Corporate was formed with the primary purpose of merging AI with the world of robotics. They've been working to create an AI-powered computer system that could mimic the capabilities of a human brain.

And they've succeeded.

In March of 2023, the company released a press release introducing Phoenix, the first humanoid general-purpose robot pioneered by its signature Carbon AI control system. Phoenix stands at 5' 7" and weighs 155 pounds, making it around the same size as a slim adult. It can move up to 3 mph and has a maximum payload of 55 lbs.

But what makes it really stand out is not its humanoid appearance. It's the way the robot uses AI to translate spoken language into action.

In other words, Phoenix can think and act like a person, completing tasks that someone asks it to perform verbally. It even has agency and goal-seeking behaviors built in. In an early test, it even performed 110 employee tasks in a retail store quite well.

A Sci-Fi Future Becomes Reality

What does this mean for the future of robotics?

It means the science fiction world where robots work alongside humans may not be far behind where we are today. The connection of robotic technology with emerging AI programming is making the general-purpose robot a reality.

Whether the result is housekeeping droids like Rosie the Robot or functional human-like workers like Phoenix, the AI robot is poised to make substantial waves in the coming years.