News/Robotics
AI is About to Enable an iPhone Moment for Robots
AI-powered humanoid robots are on the cusp of transforming our homes and society, with recent advancements bringing them closer to widespread adoption. The AI revolution in robotics: Large language models (LLMs) are emerging as a key technology for endowing robots with embodied intelligence and autonomous purpose. University of Leicester AI and robotics lecturer Daniel Zhou Hao suggests that integrating advanced AI into robots could catalyze their "iPhone moment," leading to rapid market penetration and adoption. LLMs are proving crucial in enabling robots to learn from and interact with the real world, paving the way for more sophisticated and versatile machines....
read Aug 12, 2024AI and Robotics Transform Industries at Mumbai Automation Expo
The upcoming Automation Expo in Mumbai promises to showcase cutting-edge innovations in AI and robotics, highlighting their transformative impact on industrial processes and factory automation. Event details and scale: The 17th edition of the Automation Expo will take place from August 21-24, 2024, at the Bombay Exhibition Center in Mumbai, featuring an impressive lineup of exhibitors and brands. The four-day event will host 500 exhibitors and over 1000 brands, expecting to draw around 50,000 visitors. This large-scale expo aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the latest technologies and solutions, particularly beneficial for the MSME sector. The event will feature...
read Aug 10, 2024The Apollo Humanoid Robot Could Build Your Next Car by 2025
Humanoid robots are poised to transform industrial workplaces, with Apptronik's Apollo leading the charge in manufacturing and logistics applications. This advanced robot, developed over eight years, is garnering attention from major companies and could soon be assembling luxury vehicles or handling warehouse operations. The Apollo robot: A technological marvel: Apptronik's humanoid robot Apollo represents a significant advancement in robotics technology, combining human-like form with industrial-grade capabilities. Standing 5'8" tall and weighing 160 pounds, Apollo closely mimics human proportions, allowing it to navigate environments designed for human workers. The robot boasts impressive strength, capable of carrying up to 55 pounds, making...
read Aug 9, 2024What the Figure 02 Humanoid Robot Means for the Future of Industrial AI
The unveiling of Figure's next-generation humanoid robot, Figure 02, marks a significant leap in autonomous robotic technology, leveraging advanced AI computing power to perform fully autonomous tasks in industrial settings. Cutting-edge features and capabilities: Figure 02 represents a substantial advancement in humanoid robotics, boasting enhanced AI computing power and sophisticated hardware designed for complex industrial applications. The robot incorporates a second NVIDIA RTX GPU-based module, resulting in a threefold increase in inference capabilities compared to its predecessor. Figure 02 is equipped with human-scale hands, six RGB cameras, and advanced perception AI models, enabling it to interact more effectively with its...
read Aug 8, 2024Google DeepMind AI Robot Masters Table Tennis, Challenges Human Players
An AI-powered robotic table tennis player developed by Google DeepMind is demonstrating amateur-level skills, winning 45% of matches against human opponents in a recent study. This breakthrough combines advanced robotics with sophisticated AI software, showcasing the potential for AI-driven systems to master complex physical tasks and interact dynamically with humans in real-world scenarios. System architecture and capabilities: Google DeepMind's robotic table tennis player integrates an industrial robot arm with custom AI software, employing a two-tiered approach to gameplay. The system utilizes an ABB IRB 1100 industrial robot arm as its physical component, providing the necessary precision and speed for table...
read Aug 7, 2024BMW Tests AI-Powered Humanoid Robot for Car Assembly
The automotive industry is exploring new frontiers in manufacturing with the introduction of AI-powered humanoid robots, as evidenced by BMW's recent trial at its Spartanburg, South Carolina factory. Robotic innovation in automotive manufacturing: BMW recently conducted a groundbreaking test involving a humanoid robot called Figure 02 at its US-based production facility. The Figure 02 robot was tasked with assembling chassis parts, specifically inserting sheet metal components into fixtures. This humanoid robot boasts hands with 16 degrees of freedom, providing it with dexterity comparable to human workers. Figure 02's strength is equivalent to that of a human, making it suitable for...
read Aug 7, 2024High School Student Develops AI Robot Dog to Assist Visually Impaired
Pioneering student innovation: Selin Alara Ornek, a high school senior from Istanbul, Turkey, has developed a groundbreaking robot guide dog project called IC4U, leveraging machine learning and the NVIDIA Jetson platform. Ornek, a self-taught robotics enthusiast, was inspired to create IC4U after observing a guide dog in France and reflecting on her late dog Korsan. The project aims to provide visually impaired individuals with a robotic companion that overcomes the limitations of traditional guide dogs, such as aging and health issues. IC4U utilizes advanced technologies, including sound sensors and a ZED 2i Wide-Angle 3D AI camera, powered by an NVIDIA...
read Aug 6, 2024Tesla Shifts Gears: AI and Robotics Drive New Strategy
Tesla's strategic pivot: Elon Musk has declared Tesla's transformation from an automaker to an "AI and robotics company," signaling a significant shift in the company's focus and future direction. Tesla's core automotive business is facing challenges, with declining sales and shrinking profits, prompting the company to explore new avenues for growth and innovation. The electric vehicle manufacturer is now heavily investing in GPUs and AI development, diverting resources from new car models to support its AI and robotics ambitions. Recent company demonstrations have showcased humanoid robots rather than new vehicles, further emphasizing Tesla's new strategic direction. Musk's vision for Tesla:...
read Aug 5, 2024New AI Breakthrough Enables Robots to Express Human-Like Emotions
Chinese scientists have made a breakthrough in humanoid robot technology, developing a method that allows robots to express emotions more naturally and accurately. This advancement could significantly enhance the potential applications of humanoid robots in various fields, particularly in scenarios where emotional interaction is crucial. The innovation: Chinese researchers from Hohai University and Changzhou University have created a two-stage method to enable humanoid robots to display more complex and lifelike facial expressions. The new AI system generates detailed examples of facial expressions, which are then learned and performed by a specially designed robot with multiple degrees of freedom for facial...
read Aug 3, 2024Oxford Dynamics’ Life-Saving Robot Is Purpose-Built for Hazardous Environments
Pioneering technology for perilous situations: Oxford Dynamics has created Strider, a robot capable of venturing into areas dangerous to humans, such as those contaminated by chemical, biological, or nuclear incidents, or exposed to lethal radiation: Strider can retrieve contaminated objects, secure them in sealed containers, and perform semi-autonomous tasks that would be difficult for humans in protective gear. The robot is equipped with infra-red, radar, and lidar systems, enabling it to navigate challenging and unfamiliar terrain. Government backing and future applications: The UK Ministry of Defence has awarded Oxford Dynamics a £1 million contract to design, develop, and supply Strider:...
read Aug 3, 2024Figure AI Just Released a Teaser for Its Figure 02 Humanoid Robot
Figure AI unveiled a teaser for advanced humanoid robot "Figure 02," set to debut on August 6, 2024, amidst growing competition in the AI-driven robotics sector. A glimpse into the future: Figure AI, a startup backed by tech giants like OpenAI, Microsoft, and Nvidia, has released a teaser video for its latest humanoid robot, Figure 02: The video showcases close-ups of robotic joints, limbs, and flexible mesh designs, hinting at advanced capabilities. Technical specifications mentioned include torque ratings up to 150Nm and a range of motion up to 195 degrees. Figure's founder, Brett Adcock, claims Figure 02 is "the most...
read Aug 1, 2024Robot Dentist Performs World’s First Autonomous Dental Procedure
The world's first fully autonomous robotic dental procedure has been successfully completed, marking a significant milestone in the field of dentistry and robotics. Key Takeaways: The AI-controlled robotic system, developed by Boston-based company Perceptive, has the potential to revolutionize dental care by streamlining procedures and improving patient experience: The robot uses a hand-held 3D volumetric scanner with optical coherence tomography (OCT) to create detailed, high-resolution models of the mouth without harmful X-ray radiation. It can prepare a tooth for a dental crown in just 15 minutes, compared to the typical two-hour process that dentists usually split into two visits. The...
read Jul 30, 2024Nvidia’s New AI Tools Accelerate Humanoid Robot Development
Nvidia has unveiled a suite of AI models and services to accelerate humanoid robot development, aiming to reduce costs and development time for robotics companies and developers. Key offerings and tools: Nvidia announced several new solutions at the annual Siggraph event to support the development of next-generation humanoid robots: NIM, a suite of microservices providing pre-built containers for AI tasks, including MimicGen for generating synthetic motion data and Robocasa for creating 3D testing environments. Osmo, a cloud-native managed service for orchestrating and scaling complex robotics development workflows, potentially reducing deployment and development times from months to under a week. Project...
read Jul 26, 2024Ex-Apple Engineers Develop Lidar-Free Autonomous Delivery Robots
A California-based startup called Vayu Robotics, founded by ex-Apple car engineers, has developed autonomous delivery robots that can navigate complex environments without using expensive lidar sensors. Key Takeaways: Pioneering a new approach to autonomous navigation Vayu's delivery robots leverage a transformer-based "mobility foundation model" and passive sensors to navigate autonomously, eliminating the need for costly lidar sensors or pre-mapping environments. This unique technology allows the robots to handle payloads up to 100 pounds and travel at speeds under 20mph, making them suitable for last-mile delivery applications. The company's founders, previously part of Apple's Special Projects Group working on the now-canceled...
read Jul 23, 2024AI Startup Raises $16.5M to Streamline Software for Drones and Robots
A new Boston startup using AI for drones and robots: Code Metal, founded by artificial intelligence researchers from MIT Lincoln Laboratory, has raised $16.5 million to develop AI software for hardware like drones, sensors, and robots. Simplifying software development for diverse hardware: Code Metal is building a translation platform that allows developers to write software in common programming languages and quickly adapt it to run on various hardware chips: The startup aims to automate the translation process, potentially cutting out months or years of delay in getting software to work on specific hardware systems. Part of Code Metal's technology relies...
read Jul 20, 2024Researchers Design Tiny Autonomous Drones Inspired by Insects
Researchers from TU Delft have developed an insect-inspired navigation strategy that allows tiny, lightweight robots to autonomously navigate long distances with minimal computation and memory. Key insights from insect navigation: The researchers drew inspiration from how insects like ants visually recognize their environment and combine it with step counting (odometry) to find their way back home: Insects make occasional visual "snapshots" of their surroundings that they can later compare to their current view to minimize differences and navigate back to the snapshot location. By combining visual snapshots with odometry, insects can space out snapshots further apart and still successfully navigate...
read Jul 20, 2024Breakthrough Technique Enables Smarter, More Interpretable Robot Decision-Making
Researchers from UC Berkeley, the University of Warsaw and Stanford have developed a new technique called Embodied Chain-of-Thought (ECoT) reasoning to enhance the decision-making capabilities of vision-language-action (VLA) models used in robotic control systems. Key Takeaways: ECoT enables robots to reason about their actions in a way that is grounded in their perception of the environment, combining semantic reasoning about tasks with "embodied" reasoning about the robot's state and surroundings: By generating intermediate reasoning steps, ECoT allows VLAs to better map the relationships between different parts of a problem and come up with more accurate solutions, similar to how Chain-of-Thought...
read Jul 12, 2024Google’s AI Robots Learn from Videos, Hinting at Transformative Applications
Google's AI robots are making significant strides in learning by watching videos, demonstrating the potential for transformative applications of advanced language models like Gemini 1.5 Pro in robotics. Video training enables robots to navigate and complete tasks: By watching video tours of designated areas, Google's RT-2 robots equipped with the Gemini 1.5 Pro AI model can learn about their environment and carry out requests at their destination: The AI's long context window allows it to process extensive information simultaneously, enabling the robot to absorb details from the video to complete tasks based on its learned knowledge. In practical tests within...
read Jul 12, 2024Google’s Gemini-Powered Robot Navigates Offices, Follows Complex Commands
Google DeepMind has unveiled a chatbot-powered robot capable of navigating an office environment and following complex verbal and visual instructions, demonstrating the potential for large language models to enable more intelligent and useful physical machines. Gemini chatbot upgrade enables advanced robot capabilities: Google DeepMind's robot leverages the latest version of the company's Gemini large language model to understand commands and navigate its surroundings: The robot can parse complex verbal instructions like "Find me somewhere to write" and lead a person to an appropriate location, such as a whiteboard. Gemini's ability to handle video and text input, combined with pre-recorded video...
read Jul 11, 2024AI Startup Jacobi Robotics Raises $5M to Make Box-Stacking Safer and More Efficient
A startup is using AI to revolutionize the tedious and injury-prone task of stacking boxes on pallets in warehouses, potentially delivering a tangible win for commercial robotics in the near term. The importance of pallets in the global supply chain: Pallets are ubiquitous in the movement of goods worldwide, with billions in circulation and hundreds of billions of dollars worth of products transported on them annually: Over 2 billion pallets are used in the U.S. alone, carrying $400 billion in exported goods each year. Despite their critical role, loading boxes onto pallets remains a manual task fraught with risks of...
read Jul 10, 2024China Bets on Humanoid Robots as U.S. Chip Restrictions Bite
The World AI Conference in Shanghai showcased China's advancements in artificial intelligence, particularly in the development of humanoid robots, as the country grapples with ongoing chip shortages due to U.S. export controls. Emphasis on humanoid robots over advanced chips: Huawei Cloud CEO Zhang Ping'an argued that China does not need the most advanced chips to lead in AI development, suggesting that the country should focus on other areas of innovation: Zhang stated that believing advanced AI chips are the only path to AI leadership is equivalent to embracing defeat, urging the industry to abandon this viewpoint. The conference featured 18...
read Jul 10, 2024Skild AI Raises $300M to Develop “General Purpose Brain” for Plug-and-Play Robot Intelligence
Skild AI, a Pittsburgh-based robotics startup, has raised $300 million at a $1.5 billion valuation to develop a "general purpose brain" for robots that can be integrated across various applications. Skild AI's plug-and-play robotic intelligence: The company has created a foundational model that serves as a single off-the-shelf intelligence for robots, enabling them to perform basic functions: The AI model allows robots to navigate complex environments, such as climbing steep slopes, walking over obstructing objects, and identifying and picking up items. Skild AI's model has been trained on a massive database of text, images, and video, which the company claims...
read Jul 9, 2024AI-Powered Humanoid Robots: A Solution to Global Labor Shortages or Job Killer?
The rise of AI-powered humanoid robots is sparking optimism about their potential to address global labor shortages, particularly in manufacturing and dangerous work. Key players and investments: Major tech companies like Tesla, Amazon, Microsoft, and Nvidia are investing billions in developing humanoid robots: Tesla CEO Elon Musk believes the company's Optimus robot could propel it to a $25 trillion market cap and will be vital to Tesla's long-term value. Amazon is already deploying Agility Robotics' Digit robots in its fulfillment centers. The market for humanoids is predicted to grow to $38 billion in the next 20 years, according to Goldman...
read Jul 9, 2024MIT’s Open-TeleVision: Merging Human Intelligence with Robotic Automation
The researchers at MIT and UCSD have developed a new immersive remote control system for robots called "Open-TeleVision" that leverages human intelligence and adaptability to advance the field of robotic automation. This human-centered approach offers a compelling alternative to fully autonomous AI systems, with significant implications for various industries. Key advantages of human-robot collaboration: Open-TeleVision showcases the potential of combining human cognitive abilities with advanced robotics, offering benefits such as adaptability, intuition, creative problem-solving, and ethical decision-making: The system enables operators to actively perceive the robot's surroundings in a stereoscopic manner while mirroring their arm and hand movements, creating an...
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