The ultimate goal is to produce general-purpose robots. If we want robots that can do everything a human can, then legs are definitely useful.
One simple example: getting in and out of a car. Another thing to consider is that a legged robot can tilt itself for balance while carrying heavy objects. To carry a similar weight with a wheeled robot you'll need a much wider wheel base.
And then of course, if you want to build robots that can be useful inside a house, then they need to be able to cope with stairs. There's also construction... At some point, you don't have elevators... Or just circulating between buildings out on the street where the pavement isn't great.
In my opinion your argument assumes there would be a single form factor for robots that will be used everywhere. This assumption has generally been false for most technology, look at the different cars or personal computer. In my opinion, we will have as many kinds of robots as there are breeds of dogs, some of which will be bipedal, but most of them will make do with wheels.
Exactly. We don't need robots that replace humans 1-for-1. If there's a building site that currently needs humans to scale ladders etc then a combination of lifts, loading bays, cranes, drones and tracked robots can do it, not legged robots that carry everything up ladders etc.
Of course that needs very smart systems that can co-ordinate but that's my point, there's an opportunity cost for everything, and I think that's better spent on AI and a multitude of other systems rather than a schoolboy sci-fi fantasy of bipedal robots
> look at the different cars or personal computer.
this feels like a flawed example to me. ~100 years on and all cars are starting to look the same.[1] Personal computers, after like 30 years, have mostly converged around something that's essentially a 3x5 touchscreen with cameras on both sides. Sure, there are laptops and PC's, work and semi trucks, but that's 3 form factors? meh. Manufacturing at scale is much more efficient, and form follows function, can't really escape either.
To me the killer app would be basic house chores: cleaning, doing dishes, etc. For industrial applications I suspect we will retrofit factories for whatever robot tech we have, instead of needing humanoid robots to use interfaces designed for humans. The same goes even for commercial applications like stocking grocery shelves. Driverless cars are an obvious example already. But people probably don’t want to significantly retrofit their homes with less human-friendly interfaces.
Why do I want a general purpose robot? I don't need one robot that does it all, I'm happy with a separate robots for washing my dishes, and vacuuming my floors. Sure both can be improved on, but they don't need to converge. In fact I'm glad those two are separate as I can let both of them run at the same time and get the work done faster, while a general purpose robot can only do one at a time.
The goal is to make my life better, robots are only an implementation detail. Maybe some robots need legs (construction robots?), but most don't. If the robot with wheels is cheaper I'll take that in many cases.
I don't think you want a vacuuming robot. Those already exist, its called a Roomba, and they have a lot of limitations that are completely intractible in their given form factor. You have to modify how you use your house to make it actually useful enough. Some examples:
1. Stairs. Roomba's can't vacuum stairs, so you still need to do those yourself.
2. Stairs, Roomba's can't traverse stairs, so you need one for each floor.
3. Doors. If you want the Roomba to vacuum the whole house, you have to have all the doors open for it.
4. Can't have anything on the floor, the Roomba will either get stuck or avoid it. But I shouldn't have to never leave a backpack on my floor if I want it vacuumed.
5. Corners. Roomba's can't vacuum in corners or in tight areas between furniture and walls. or any other weird geometry. ie: I have a wire shelf. Roomba doesn't fit under it but its easy to use a stick vacuum to get between the wires and to the floor.
And this is before we get to the limit on suction and capacity in that form factor.
The roomba isn't the only possible form of robot vacuum. There may be other options for a design that isn't general purpose but eliminates those issues. Perhaps we should just install elevators or dumb waiters in houses (dumb waiter may be cheaper because it doesn't have to be human rates for safety, while elevators are also useful for humans in wheel chairs which at some point in your life is likely to be someone you are close enough to that you would want to invite them into your house). Likewise doors that can open themself are an option that can solve other problems (think star trek - not current technology)
You want a separate robotic appliance for every thing you want done? That sounds... hectic.
I'm also not sure it's important that laundry and dishes get done at the exact same time - if it is, you should probably do 1 of those tasks yourself - especially since a robot would be able to stuff at night, etc, giving it more time to complete tasks
Also, GP mentions stairs, and adding wheel support to that. So not only do you want a half dozen robits rolling around your home, you'll also need to remodel your home to support it.
Or, of course, we could develop bipedal robots, which seems to have little downside as compared to wheeled robots.
I just want the tasks done without thinking about them. How it happens doesn't matter to me, just get it done. 1 robot, 1 million - I don't care, just so long as I can afford them and they stay out of my way.
While I don't care if everything gets done at once, I care that things are done right and not otherwise inconvenient for me. Maybe the best way to have robots that work slow and then apply a lot of then.
The important thing to note here is robots for many of the things I want do not exist. When they come we will see. Maybe is a a specialized robot, maybe it is more general purpose. That is irrelevant.
My phone is not 100% general purpose, it is a compromise. I'm typing this on a computer not my phone that is right next to my keyboard because my phone is a bad compromise for typing comments. The phone works well enough that I'll use it when on the go, but only because there are times when hauling my full size computer isn't a good option, as soon as I'm using it I prefer the computer.
There is a lot of room for special purpose tools to handle more than one purpose while not being fully general purpose. I'm suggesting we never have a need for full general purpose, but there is for sure room for robots that do more than one thing but don't do everything. I might want the robot that sets and clears my table after meals to also gather my dirty laundry and when clean bring it back - but offload the actual cleaning process for both to specialized robots.
That tilting wheel robot is huge compared to a person, and it seems to me that the potential for it accidentally injuring a person while moving would be much greater than with a humanoid, if only because of its mass and its need to perform large, rapid motions to maintain its balance.
One simple example: getting in and out of a car. Another thing to consider is that a legged robot can tilt itself for balance while carrying heavy objects. To carry a similar weight with a wheeled robot you'll need a much wider wheel base.
And then of course, if you want to build robots that can be useful inside a house, then they need to be able to cope with stairs. There's also construction... At some point, you don't have elevators... Or just circulating between buildings out on the street where the pavement isn't great.