Figure, an AI robotics company that claims to build the world’s first commercially viable autonomous humanoid robot, has made a huge stride by integrating a voice feature to its humanoid, Figure 01; the voice is powered by none other than OpenAI’s ChatGPT. 

The video demonstrates the humanoid having conversations with a person and doing tasks as per his instructions. The voice feature is reminiscent of the ‘voice feature’ on ChatGPT, and the robot even stutters in between to give the natural feel of a conversation.With the voice feature, ChatGPT has now got a body. 

The neural networks in Figure deliver fast, low-level, dextrous robot actions. The company has said that combining it with OpenAI models, provides high-level visual and language intelligence. 

Read: OpenAI Goes After Blue-Collar Jobs

Figure AI, recently raised $675 million in Series B funding, from big tech investors, notably, OpenAI. Microsoft, NVIDIA, Intel Capital, Bezos Expeditions and other VC firms have also invested in this round. 

Sam Altman has 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 and added that at some point, they will be able to use their AI models, along with their language and video understanding, to accomplish amazing things with robots.

OpenAI’s collaboration in Figure is not a mere investment, but an effort to develop advanced AI models for humanoid robots too. The software and conversational capabilities are contributed by OpenAI. Now, with a physical embodiment of ChatGPT, Figure becomes the first humanoid manufacturing company to bring a voice to their robots. 

Tesla’s Optimus and Boston Dynamics’s Atlas have also not achieved this feat. Also, this probably explains the reason for the recent lawsuit filed by Elon Musk against OpenAI.

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 – a race, every big tech is vested in. 

Source: X