**6. Conclusion**

142 The Future of Humanoid Robots – Research and Applications

Fig. 19. Similarity and interchangeability of underlying basic technologies between robots of different categories. From left to right: Kaist's Humaniod Robot HUBO, Kaist's Mobile HUBO FX-1 suit built upon the HUBO platform, TUM's GEWOS sensor chair serving as control interface, IRT'S and Toyota's r intuitively controllable robotic wheelchair.

We have argued that human beings are steadily using and advancing tools. Exoskeletons and especially humanoid robotic technology in ill defined construction and built service environment as a whole or its subsystems/elements can be seen as a highly advanced tool or cooperating set of tools. Exoskeletons and humanoid robotic technology not only allows augmenting human abilities but creates tools that are capable of autonomous decision-making and performance in order to achieve certain goals as agent of a human being especially in dangerous, dirty and tedious construction activities. Most major industries have already extensively made use of robotic technology, which transforms production system technology in automotive industry, aircraft industry, the electrical appliance's sector, the medical field, farming and even recently construction. For the near future, we see a huge potential for robotics – wearable cooperative systems as well as fully autonomous systems- to permeate the field of construction and building technology. We have presented a categorization distinguishing between mechatronic, robotic, microsystemic element technology (power augmentation, sensing and motion augmentation, and cognition augmentation), subsystems (assistive devices and partial exoskeletons), total systems (exoskeletons, mobility robots), autonomous robots

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(humanoids, service robots) and highly complex distributed robot systems. Further, we have shown that with each new generation of robots, the applicability of robots in rather unstructured environments as on the construction sites or in building service environment advances. Finally, new sensing and interface technologies allow that robotic systems can be fully integrated in complex human-machine interaction systems and tasks. Based on the findings presented in this article, we assume that more and more flexible and autonomous exoskeletons and humanoid robotic technology will continue to permeate our in terms of complexity and work tasks rather unstructured domain of construction and building environment. Ultimately those exoskeletons and humanoid robotic technologies even will open up completely new possibilities for mankind in extreme and highly unstructured environments such as deep sea under water mining/habitat and construction and mining in space.
