Chinese companies that plan to mass-produce bipedal robots by the end of the year are looking for chatbot partners to give their machines AI brains.
Fourier Intelligence unveiled GR-1 at the World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) in July. The company was able to demonstrate the range of motion of a bipedal robot, but the tinplate still lacks a key component. brain.
robot without brain
Chinese firm Fourier Intelligence is developing a bipedal robot that can walk at 5km/h while carrying a 50kg load.
Fourier founder and CEO Alex Gu admits the human-like machine was a bit unusual for a company that typically makes medical rehabilitation robots.
“This is an unprecedented endeavor for us. We had little reference when it came to technology,” Gu said. south china morning post upon Sunday.
Before introducing the GR-1 robot, the company produced smart exercise bikes, wireless robotic gloves, and computer-guided devices for rehabilitating arm and leg movements.
For Gu, these rehabilitation machines were a stepping stone to humanoid robotics.
“Many of the techniques used in rehabilitation robots are inherently applicable to humanoid robots,” Gu said. “Humanoid robots need very good motors, strong and light, which we can develop ourselves.”
The Shanghai-based company is now ramping up its production of robots and hopes to mass produce them by the end of the year. But Mr. Fourier lacks his AI brains to take the GR-1 to the next level.
Add heart, but who?
Fourier will continue to perfect the GR-1 body and hardware. Creating a robot “brain” and language center is a job better left to AI developers.
Fourier and Chief Strategy Officer Zheng Ko already have several potential partners in mind, but the company isn’t going to stick to any particular solution.
“We want to work with all the big companies and be open as a system,” Koh said.
The addition of the Speech Center advantage will further expand the application range of the GR-1.
As a medical company, Mr. Gu is already looking at machine applications in the medical field, including elderly care. A language center would allow the machine to better integrate with the patient. Besides medicine, Gu promotes his machine for careers in the fields of education and hospitality.
fierce competition in the field
Competition is heating up in the field of human-like robotics.
Boston Dynamics unveiled the Atlas robot in 2013, improving the machine through several stages of progressively more complex and complex designs. According to video evidence, Boston Dynamics is the leader in this field. But they shouldn’t get it all the way.
In August of last year, the Chinese company Xiaomi released a humanoid robot called Cyber One. For now, the robot can only walk, but Xiaomi continues to perfect the machine.
In December 2022, Elon Musk We unveiled Tesla’s Optimus robot, but really, at the time, we could do very little.
However, the company has made clear strides with its recent update, which shows limited functions like walking and box lifting.This may be enough for Mr. Musk, he says optimus It’s not meant to be “superior intelligent”, it’s meant to help humans do “boring, repetitive, or dangerous tasks.”
Multiple fully Tesla bots walking around and learning about the real world
Join the Tesla AI team → https://t.co/dBhQqg1qya pic.twitter.com/3TZ2znxkfd
— Tesla Optimus (@Tesla_Optimus) May 16, 2023
Like Fourier, Musk has suggested that his company’s Optimus robots will begin production in 2023, but Musk habitually underestimates the length of development cycles for the products his company is working on. Therefore, this should be taken with a grain of salt.
The China Tinmen Seek AI Brain post first appeared on MetaNews.
