The Importance of Being Humanoid

A humanoid robot is a particular form of embodied agent. The form that an agent takes has a major impact on how that agent interacts with its environment and how it develops an understanding of that environment through its interactions. In this paper, we explore the importance of humanoid embodiment and we argue that humanoids occupy a special niche in the spectrum of robot forms. In doing so, we highlight the implications for the way a humanoid robot can interact with its environment, including humans, for the manner in which humans interact with humanoid robots, and for a humanoid robot’s capacity to develop cognitive abilities. We also consider the degree to which humanoid robots should approximate humans, addressing robot morphology, appearance, and movement. We emphasize the dual role of humanoid robots as engineering artifacts that can provide services for humans, and as platforms for scientific enquiry into the nature of human cognition. We conclude by highlighting some key research challenges for the discipline of humanoid robotics.