Just as Tesla's Optimus robot demonstrates new capabilities for pick-and-place sorting and single-legged yoga balancing, Singaporean company Fourier Intelligence has released a new video showing the production process of its super humanoid robot GR-1.
Fourier claims the GR-1 can support 50 kilograms (110 pounds) thanks to a pair of particularly strong robotic hips made up of two 300 Nm (221 lb-ft) hip actuators.
However, its arms and hands look very thin, and the company also says that the robot will serve as a rehabilitation assistant, with grippers on its waist that can help people stand up from wheelchairs and beds. Therefore, it is entirely possible that these loads were moved here.
The company released a video of its production facility today that shows not only the assembly process of the robot, but also the winding of custom actuator coils, a 3D printed assembly of body parts, a disembodied hand that apparently replicates human movements on a test bench, and what appears to be a hand controller for the robot. Please see:
Last week, Agility claimed that its upcoming RoboFab factory in Salem, Oregon, would be "the world's first humanoid robot factory," which was likely a subtle response to the claim, which we questioned at the time since Fourier has already stated its intention to deliver 100 GR-1 humanoid robots to customers by the end of the year.
Tesla, on the other hand, hasn't talked about production yet -- although as a company, Tesla has certainly made strides in car manufacturing.
Instead, Fourier is shipping the GR-1 to a series of R&D partners, primarily hoping to get a variety of perspectives on how to train and improve the robot's skills, while Tesla works internally on autonomous operations and building capabilities for the Optimus robot.
Powered by the same high-spec vision-based computers used in Tesla's "Full Self-Driving" autopilot system, Optimus is now able to precisely position its arms and legs, calibrating their position in space simply by looking at them. Tesla says this self-calibration system helps the robot learn new tasks more efficiently.
One of the tasks involved picking up a pile of blocks and sorting them into different boxes by color. The robot seemed to perform this task adeptly, smoothly rerouting the activity when a human stepped in and moving the blocks, and also showed the ability to correct errors when the blocks were not placed the right way.
Currently, it moves very slowly; most feature videos play at 150% speed. But the movements do look well thought out, precise and smooth, and Optimus's hands look nimble. Balance is clearly not an issue—the video ends with Optimus striking several fluid single-legged yoga poses that many humans would struggle to perform. Let’s take a look:
As the "South Park" team said, "Optimus" and "GR-1" still walk a bit like "pants full". In fact, even after a decade of research, parkour, dance, and gymnastics, Boston Dynamics' Atlas robot still moves a little like it needs a diaper check. It will be interesting to see how quickly these issues are resolved as large amounts of capital pour into the robotics industry in the coming years.
Companies that can bring universal humanoid robots to market that perform useful functions safely and reliably and learn new tasks quickly and efficiently will put themselves in an unprecedented position. As these robots scale, they are expected to become the workforce of the future, cheaper and simpler than humans, capable of performing multiple tasks around the clock and recharging with just a break.
This is a remarkable piece of technology and a critical moment for our species, the outcome of which is highly uncertain.
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