This humanoid robot can drive cars — sort of

Is the key to autonomous cars that don’t run over pedestrians and crash into telephone poles a humanoid robot behind the wheel? 

A group of researchers at the University of Tokyo think so, and they lay out their argument in a newly published technical paper this week. 

The researchers, one of whom consults for Toyota, developed and trained a “musculoskeletal humanoid” called Musashi to drive a small electric car through a test track.

Equipped with two cameras standing in for human eyes, Musashi can “see” the road in front of it as well as the views reflected in the car’s side mirrors. With its mechanical hands, it  can rotate the car’s key, pull the handbrake and switch on the turn signal. 

And, thanks to its anti-slip “feet,” Musashi can press on the accelerator or brake pedal.