“2024 will be the year of Embodied AI,” said Brett Adcock, CEO and founder of Figure robotics towards the end of last year. Fast forward to today, there is a humanoid robot that can not only perform tasks but also talk to you! 

While we patiently wait for GPT-5, OpenAI’s collaboration with Figure is surely the first of its kind. Now everything is slowly but surely coming together. OpenAI models provide high-level visual and language intelligence. Figure neural networks, on the other hand, deliver fast, low-level, dexterous robot actions. 

Embodied AI

When Adcock started the AI robot company, Figure, in 2022, he believed that he’ll have reliable humanoid hardware well ahead of reliable real-world neural nets running on robots. However, the recent advancements in AI have proven that they go hand-in-hand with the development of reliable humanoid robots. 

In their latest demo video, Figure 01 is not only able to achieve small tasks but they are also able to talk to you. With ChatGPT integration, the humanoid is able to converse on end-to-end neural networks, something that is not achieved by rival robot makers. 

“We’ll be racing to get reliable hardware, vast training sets, and designing manufacturing processes for billions of units. I can’t think of a more exciting future,” said Adcock, referring to the advancements he wants to bring to Figure. 

One of the notable investors of Figure, OpenAI chief Sam Altman has also been extremely optimistic about the future of robotics. “On the physical hardware side, there’s finally, for the first time that I’ve ever seen, really exciting new platforms being built,” he said. 

Adcock’s vision for robotics to bring an all ‘embodied’ robot that can execute low-level tasks and even converse with humans is quite different from the capabilities of Tesla’s Optimus or Boston Dynamics’ Atlas. 

Source: X

Tesla’s swanky Optimus has been able to do impressive tasks including yoga. Atlas on the other hand was last seen somersaulting in a factory setting. The humanoid, H1 robot, developed by China’s Unitree Robotics, recently reached a walking speed of 7.4 miles per hour, and also claims to reach a speed of 11 mph. 

Calling 2024 as the year of robotics, developments in this area have been remarkable. Humanoids may be one form, but general purpose-robots are also making their way. Google DeepMind-led robotics projects, announced a couple of models, at the start of this year, that helps with achieving low and easy tasks. 

Advancements in Robotics Training

Collecting robot data and training it still remains an arduous task, which is partly reflected in the pace of advancements in robotics. However, innovative learning methods for the same are also simultaneously developed, such as imitation learning. 

Chen Wang, a PhD student at Stanford is heading a project that enables wearable devices to collect robot data without the presence of an actual robot. DexCap, is a portable hand motion capture system that collects 3D data for training robots. 

Stanford professor and former researcher at Google DeepMind Karol Hausman, recently announced the launch of his new startup, Physical Intelligence. The company aims to build foundation models that can control any robot for any application. 

“We’ll focus on collecting robot data at a scale never seen before, making algorithmic advancements, training very large models and whatever else is needed to bring AI into the physical world,” said Hausman. 

Tesla’s Optimus is trained on proprietary systems, including the full self-driving (FSD) feature in Tesla’s cars. 

AGI Conversations, Again…  

An X user commenting on Figure 01’s demo video. Source: X

Furthermore, with AGI conversations popping up every two weeks, the latest demo of Figure 01 has definitely raised a lot of questions about whether robotics is the path to AGI. With ‘Embodied AI’ as the theme for robotics, a fully en masse humanoid might be the route to AGI. 

Interestingly, Paolo Pirjanian, a robotist and entrepreneur, is the founder of a company named ‘Embodied, Inc’, which has created Moxie robots, an AI-powered robot built to support and interact with kids.