And we're further away since nobody bought Schaft from Google, and Schaft was shut down. They had the best humanoid.
But so many of the little problems have been solved. Batteries are much better. Radio data links are totally solved. Cameras are small and cheap. 3-phase brushless motors are small and somewhat. Power electronics for 3-phase brushless motors is cheap. 3D printing for making parts is cheap.
I used to work on this stuff in the 1990s. All those things were problems back then. Way too much time spent on low-level mechanics.
You can now get a good legged dog-type robot for US$12K, and a good robot arm for US$4K. This is progress.
But so many of the little problems have been solved. Batteries are much better. Radio data links are totally solved. Cameras are small and cheap. 3-phase brushless motors are small and somewhat. Power electronics for 3-phase brushless motors is cheap. 3D printing for making parts is cheap.
I used to work on this stuff in the 1990s. All those things were problems back then. Way too much time spent on low-level mechanics.
You can now get a good legged dog-type robot for US$12K, and a good robot arm for US$4K. This is progress.