Robot Superpower

AI-powered robots briefly took over the European Parliament this week to showcase the continent's creators as the bloc races to compete in a field dominated by China and the United States. Four human-assistance robots, designed by France's INRIA research institute and the German Aerospace Centre among others, cleared a breakfast table in 10 minutes. One robot tidied cupboards and wiped surfaces, while others put orange juice and milk in the fridge, threw away empty packaging and loaded the dishwasher.

The robots moved slowly and sometimes required a few attempts to complete their tasks. But that is by design, said INRIA's Serena Ivaldi, as the robots "have to act in human environments" without startling the people they help. The robots are made to prioritise precision over speed.

Transformer

ETH Zurich's aptly-named "Transformer" moved its robotic limbs swiftly to change both shape and function: it switched from being on four legs to two legs without losing balance, before returning on all fours and climbing up and down stairs with ease. KYON, a quadruped robot reminiscent of ones seen in "Black Mirror", made its public debut, bending its legs to pick up a parcel before delivering it to a human.

"The vision we have is that in 10 years Europe should have a major robotic industry branch of the size and importance of the current automotive industry," said Alin Albu-Schaeffer, coordinator of the EU-funded euROBin network. Europe could capture one-third of the global intelligent robotics market by then. That is highly ambitious, as China recently staged a show of technological prowess at the World Robot Games in Beijing, where one of its machines broke Usain Bolt's record for the 100-metre dash.