Boston Dynamics acknowledges safety risks in humanoid robots

Federico Vincentini, head of product safety at Boston Dynamics, delivers a keynote speech during the first Humanoid TechCon at the Westin Seoul Parnas, Friday. Korea Times photo by Park Jae-hyuk

A senior engineer at Boston Dynamics admitted Friday that humanoid robots carry inherent risks and uncertainty, saying that limiting unpredictability is the most effective way to ensure safe interaction between humans and machines.

Speaking in Seoul, Federico Vincentini, head of product safety at the U.S. robotics firm owned by Hyundai Motor Group, said humanoid robots are “intrinsically unpredictable,” making “zero uncertainty” impossible even with advanced technology.

"It's never completely clear or understood where a humanoid robot will walk next," Vincentini said during the first Humanoid TechCon in Seoul.

"Asking a robot that is intrinsically uncertain to be certain is a paradox."

His remarks came amid Hyundai Motor's conflict with its union over the automaker's planned deployment of Boston Dynamics-developed Atlas humanoid robots at factories in Korea and abroad.

Fearing job losses, unionized workers have urged management to discuss the deployments in advance.

Vincentini's speech on building trustworthy humanoid robots for real-world operations, however, made clear that Hyundai and other Atlas buyers will continue to rely on human workers even after deployment.

"We want to have a degree of predictability to be a natural interaction," he said. "We don't want surprises in a working environment that would be not comfortable."

The engineer added that limited uncertainty must be a contractual element, highlighting the importance of an agreement on "what is this limit" if manufacturers want to use robots in a real environment.

"It is not only the main measure of trust, but it is also the main measure of safety," he said.