A spin out of the Human Centered Robotics Lab at the University of Texas at Austin, startup Apptronik has some serious R&D behind it. Two of the company co-founders were part of NASA's Johnson Space Center Valkyrie team, working on the actuators and controls of the humanoid robot, as well as participating in the DARPA Robotics Challenge to build a versatile "hero robot" that could do all the things needed in a disaster relief scenario. These projects became advanced R&D work to eventually commercialize a more versatile robot that fills the need of working in an environment of unstructured tasks. And, despite the look of the robots the company has in its portfolio--like Astra, an upper body humanoid robot designed to operate with and around humans on a mobile platform, and Draco, a biped designed for agile dynamic walking--the company says it's solving a huge problem in manufacturing. "In manufacturing there are structured and highly repeatable tasks. Where we see this going is robots [designed] for the unstructured world," said Jeff Cardenas, Apptronik co-founder and CEO.

Science fiction often speculates about robots that are virtually indistinguishable from humans, and companies such as Tesla are driving to achieve just this with the launch of Optimus last month. However, while there are a few examples of humanoid robots being developed for entertainment and social purposes, the majority of robots will not take after their creators, says GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company. GlobalData's report, 'Robotics – Thematic Research', reveals that industrial robotics will play a pivotal role in the robotics market over the next decade. Sales of industrial robots hit $18.6 billion in 2021, representing 35 per cent of the total market, and will rise to $352 billion by 2030, 62 per cent of the total market. This growth is being driven by the desire to automate factory systems and production processes.

Every field has people working behind the scenes,

There is a lot of talk these days about how blockchain and artificial intelligence(AI) are working together to create a new future. But nobody has asked an AI yet what they think about blockchain technology, and I like to get my information directly from the source. Thus, I am going to the Blockchain Economic Forum (BEF) in San Francisco this June, to hear about this topic from the most well spoken of all AIs' to date, Sophia the Robot. Built by Hanson Robotics in Hong Kong, Sophia has become a cultural icon with her empathic features and witty banter. Videos of her speeches often go viral online, and she has had fascinating things to say, especially when it comes to helping people have a better understanding of robotics, and if a Terminator type future is possible.

You might not have heard of Hanson Robotics, but if you're reading this, you've probably seen their work. They were the company behind Sophia, the lifelike humanoid avatar that's made dozens of high-profile media appearances. Before that, they were the company behind that strange-looking robot that seemed a bit like Asimo with Albert Einstein's head--or maybe you saw BINA48, who was interviewed for the New York Times in 2010 and featured in Jon Ronson's books. For the sci-fi aficionados amongst you, they even made a replica of legendary author Philip K. Dick, best remembered for having books with titles like Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? turned into films with titles like Blade Runner. Hanson Robotics, in other words, with their proprietary brand of life-like humanoid robots, have been playing the same game for a while. Sometimes it can be a frustrating game to watch.

The lines between the digital and the physical are intertwined. We witness, and are part of, the amalgamation of machines and organic matter. Human forms are able to be generated at will on screens through the use of code. Debates about the future of humans have reached a point where the possibilities of immortality are being framed as memories seen as data in the mind that could be uploaded on to a computer. This has resulted in the post-internet, post-Anthropocene and, arguably, posthuman reality that we inhabit today.

Rihanna portrays the role of Bubble in Luc Besson's upcoming sci-fi film "Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets." And to give fans a better look at her unique character, the singer recently shared a behind-the-scenes teaser for the movie on Instagram. The sneak peek reveals that Bubble is a burlesque dancer who can change her physical appearance at will. While she has the ability to shape-shift into human form, her real figure is actually an amorphous blue blob. Interestingly, Rihanna is seen in a motion capture suit in the preview clip, so it means that the "Work" hitmaker was also the one bringing her character to life even when she's not in human form.

An eerily realistic robot with a sassy sense of humour pitted her wits against one of America's top TV personalities. Sophia took to the stage of The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon to share a joke or two with the comedian. But audiences may be divided in their feelings about the robot, with some viewing Sophia as'attractive' while others may feel uncomfortable. Eerily realistic robot Sophia (right) has a sassy sense of humour and her wits against one of America's top TV personalities Jimmy Fallon (left), who seemed charmed by the android. Sophia is the creation of American robotics expert David Hanson, who believes that artificial lifeforms can foster better connections with people if they take on a human form.

In the dark world of George Orwell 1984, the'proles' are forced to read meaningless poetry written by a computer. It might seem like a far-fetched scenario, but Orwell may have touched upon a future trend when he published his novel in 1949. Today, computers can do anything from interact with humans to predict their behaviour – and one could someday become the next poet laureate. The site lets you play a game titled'bot or not' to see if you can distinguish if a poem was written by a computer or a human The Bot or Not website, created by Australians Benjamin Laird and Oscar Schwartz, reveals just how adept computers have become at writing poetry. The site lets you play a game titled'bot or not' to see if you can distinguish if a poem was written by a computer or a human.

Warning: This story may contain links to and descriptions of explicit sexual acts as well as material some readers may find triggering. Isaac Asimov famously created rules that would prevent robots from harming humans. But at the second International Congress on Love and Sex with Robots earlier this week, that anxiety was turned on its head. Panelists discussed the ways in which giving robots personhood and consciousness may revolutionize our lives, but could also be catastrophic. Because, instead of worrying that we will be harmed by our creations, we're now much more concerned about causing harm to them.