Since humanoid robots are the next big thing in the next 10 years of space exploration including Earth orbit do you think the next Trek series will have any humanoid robots very similar to Japan's 2-legged Madio-Kun? or NASA & General Motor's Robonaut 2 (R2) of which prototype will be on the ISS this year? Since Trek had bleeding edge tech as well as far off tech will we see these or even if set in a timeline before 2377 just jump right to androids like data or Emergency Medical Holographic program (EMH).
So I take it you're asking if they will have non-sentient robots? Maybe, very humanoid ones. Makeup is cheap, cgi is expensive.
Why do space exploring robots need to be "humanoid"? Why can't they look like the Mars rover? Just give them the form that is practical to the task.
I think they certainly should have alot more AI in the series. Ive always thought Star Wars was a better image of the future than Star Trek in this area. I think robots and AI will be ubiquitous in the future. In Trek by contrast they were very few and far between. They did appear, as Vaal, Landru, Norman, Nomad, Rayna, M-5, Ruk, "Roger Korby", Data and Lore, etc. But with the exception of Data (and the EMH), they were not shown as part of the crew and a normal part of life. Even Data was portrayed as fairly unique, or at least the Soong androids as a group were. Issues about the legal status of smart, aware machines, didnt even seem settled in the 24th century as if this really hadnt come up much in their society, which seems unlikely. I think we will be dealing with that alot sooner than the 24th century. Id like to see robots/androids portrayed as being alot more numerous, in all sizes and shapes, and being fully integrated into the life of Federation society. That includes being starfleet officers in many cases. And they can be like Rayna or Korby. That is, without even the makeup that Data had. Or at least some can look like people, and others more like the Robonaut or somesuch thing.
Star Wars' range of robots, from the humanoid to the very unhumanoid (but still relatable as characters) is plausible, but robots are integrated into the fabric of life on Star Trek without being AI per se. Not all robots will need to be humanoid, and not all robots will need to be intelligent enough to merit the AI label. Why make a robot more intelligent than its job requires it to be? The Enterprise computer, the tricorder, the transporter and the replicator are very smart computers, if not actually AI. And the Universal Translator's ability to do what human brains cannot - translate an unfamiliar alien language - suggests it's gone beyond mere AI to something kind of unimaginable. Maybe these computers are not "robots" because they can't move around, but why have a mobile computer when it can do its job by being stationary, or by being carried around by humans?
I'd love to see AI avatars like Rommie from Andromeda in the next Trek. A sentient computer on the ship, with a walking talking avatar to help interaction. Not that I think that will happen.
I dont think anyone is saying otherwise. In fact I did say that I would like to see these things come in all shapes and sizes. That would include "stationary" smart computers. But I would also like to see what I think will exist, and exist alot earlier than the 24 th century, and thats a ubiquity of robots/androids, including alot of very smart ones. Also a much greater degree of human-machine interface. Altogether this runs the range from Hal 9000 type "stationary" smart machines, portable Dr Theopolis types, C3PO looking robots , Terminator types, Cylon and Replicant biological varieties, 4 and 8-legged, with wheels, some Transformer kinds for multiple purposes, and other besides. Budgetary constraints obviously apply in real world productions, but in general we are looking at the widest range of types. Yes, in addition, there will continue to be very high tech machines and tools that arent all that smart. No ones objecting to that.
If we see AI in a live action weekly TV show setting, it will just be cheaper to have them be like Bishop from Aliens or Norman or Roger Korby. Then its just an actor. No expensive robots or CGI issues. Just occasional scenes with a "panel" opened or something other than red coming out when they get "punctured", etc. Or to have something like Hall 9000 wheres its just a voiceover and something like a red light and camera eye, or an actors face on a screen. Avatars are fine. But I would make them physical robot/android bodies that they can inhabit when needed. Again, this just requires an actor with no special make up or effects. I think the robots would be there instead of the EMH, which seems to require some handwavium "force fields" to explain how it can hold and manipulate physical objects. Easier to just have an android or droid-type body that is simply manipulated by the advanced computer intelligence.
The thing about Andromeda was that it wasn't just a case of having the ship's computer be self-aware, Rommie was the ship itself, not just the computer. Since many fans consider the hero ships to basically be an addition character anyway, why not have the next Star Trek ship be "alive?"
I liked the fact that the ship, the holographic version of the AI, and the avatar Rommie all had slightly different personalities, so they werent just 3 versions of the same thing. That's what the Avatars were on Andromeda. An actor walking around as a physical manifestation of the sentient ship AI. Rommie was just Lexa Doig walking around and interacting with the crew. I felt it added a good aspect to the show and think it would defintely be worth incorporating into future Trek.