On the ice, a machine-learning system often triumphed over high-level South Korean players
Artificial intelligence still needs to bridge the “sim-to-real” gap. Deep-learning techniques that are all the rage in AI log superlative performances in mastering cerebral games, including chess and Go, both of which can be played on a computer. But translating simulations to the physical world remains a bigger challenge.
A robot named Curly that uses “deep reinforcement learning”—making improvements as it corrects its own errors—came out on top in three of four games against top-ranked human opponents from South Korean teams that included a women’s team and a reserve squad for the national wheelchair team. (No brooms were used).
One crucial finding was that the AI system demonstrated its ability to adapt to changing ice conditions. “These results indicate that the gap between physics-based simulators and the real world can be narrowed,” the joint South Korean-German research team wrote in Science Robotics on September 23.
Philippe J DEWOST's insight:
Curling, in its human version, is all about cooperation. How will broom holders cooperate with a robotic launcher as it seems it doesn't need help anymore ? It this still curling after all ?
In a turn away from vision, a team at MIT has created a feline robot that attempts to better approximate how humans and animals actually move, navigating stairs and uneven surfaces guided only by sensors on its feet.
Why it matters: Many ambulatory robots rely on substantial recent improvements in computer-vision, like advanced cameras and lidar. But robots will be more nimble and more practically interact with humans with the addition of "blind" vision — a sixth sense of feeling that most living things have for their surroundings.
What's going on: Computer vision alone can result in a robot with slow and inaccurate movements, says MIT's Songbae Kim, designer of the Cheetah 3.
"People start adding vision prematurely and they rely on it too much," Kim tells Axios, when it's best suited for big-picture planning, like registering where a stairway begins and knowing when to turn to avoid a wall. So his team built a "blind" version in order to focus on tactile sensing.
How the blind version works: Two algorithms help the Cheetah stay upright when it encounters unexpected obstacles.
One determines when the bot plants its feet, by calculating how far a leg has swung, how much force the leg is feeling, and where the ground is.
The other governs how much force the robot should apply to each leg to keep its balance, based on the angle of the robot's body relative to the ground.
The sensors can also adjust to external forces, like a researcher's friendly kick from the side.
The result is a quick, balanced robot: The researchers measure the force on each of the Cheetah's legs straight from the motors that control them, allowing it to move fast — at 3 meters per second, or 6.7 miles an hour — and jump up onto a tablefrom a standstill. These tricks make the 90-pound bot look surprisingly nimble.
Cheetah's design emphasizes "sensors that you and I take for granted," said Noah Cowan, director of the LIMBS robotics lab at Johns Hopkins University.
Humans unconsciously keep track of where their arms and legs are — and the forces acting on them — to help stay balanced and move smoothly. MIT’s Cheetah “feels” its legs in a similar way.
The Cheetah's capabilities resemble some of the robots produced by the ever-secretive Boston Dynamics, which in May released a video of its four-legged SpotMini navigating autonomously through its lab with the help of cameras.
It's not clear whether Boston Dynamic robots use tactile technology like Kim's, and the company did not respond to an email.
Philippe J DEWOST's insight:
It "looks" like machine vision is not necessarily mandatory when it comes to designing efficient "walking" machines.
Here’s a surprise turn of events: Softbank — maker of the friendly Pepper robot and a major M&A player in the tech world — has just announced that it is acquiring two more robotics companies from Google owner Alphabet as part of its own deeper move into the field: it is buying Big Dog developer Boston Dynamics and the secretive bipedal robotics firm Schaft.A spokesperson for Softbank has confirmed to us that the terms of the deal are not being disclosed, but we will try to find out. In case you are wondering (we were), we have double checked and these are the only two of Alphabet’s robotics companies getting acquired by Softbank.There had been lots of murmurs about Google (and then Alphabet) wanting to offload Boston Dynamics for over a year now. Most recently, Toyota was apparently eyeing up an acquisition of the two businesses.But robots are huge across all of Japan, with some of the biggest innovations, investments, and motivations for developing them coming out of the country; and so, in the end, it looks like another titan of Japanese industry beat Toyota to the punch.“Today, there are many issues we still cannot solve by ourselves with human capabilities,” said Masayoshi Son, Chairman & CEO of SoftBank Group Corp., in a statement. “Smart robotics are going to be a key driver of the next stage of the Information Revolution, and Marc and his team at Boston Dynamics are the clear technology leaders in advanced dynamic robots. I am thrilled to welcome them to the SoftBank family and look forward to supporting them as they continue to advance the field of robotics and explore applications that can help make life easier, safer and more fulfilling.”While Softbank has been hard at work doubling down on big bets in areas that it believes will be at the center of the future of computing — other acquisitions have included its $24 billion acquisition of chip maker ARM Holdings — for Alphabet, this is part of the company’s bigger efforts to rationalise some of its many acquisitions and strategic bets over the years that have not panned out as great fits with the wider business.It looks like the whole team is coming over with the deal. “We at Boston Dynamics are excited to be part of SoftBank’s bold vision and its position creating the next technology revolution, and we share SoftBank’s belief that advances in technology should be for the benefit of humanity,” said Marc Raibert, CEO and founder of Boston Dynamics, in a statement.“We look forward to working with SoftBank in our mission to push the boundaries of what advanced robots can do and to create useful applications in a smarter and more connected world.”When Alphabet (still called Google at the time) acquired Shaft and Boston Dynamics in 2013 (Shaft was purchased as one of a group of seven acquisitions), the company did not disclose the terms of the deals.While Boston Dynamics has been pretty public in posting (sometimes terrifying) videos and generally talking about of its advances in making animal-like robots that can trek across all terrains and get up instantly when knocked over, Schaft has been a fairly quiet presence.Schaft revealed its first big prototypes only about two years after the acquisition. The company has been around since 2012, after being incubated in the JSK Robotics Laboratory at the University of Tokyo by co-founders Yuto Nakanishi, Junichi Urata, Narito Suzuki and Koichi Nishiwaki. It remains a secretive company: an attempted visit to its website today was blocked.
Philippe J DEWOST's insight:
Impressed with Softbank acquisition spree ; now completing their consumer robotics stake (France's Aldebaran Robotics) with a military arm , after snapping (mobile) chip design behemoth ARM ($24Bn). Vertical integration in sight ?
The manufacturing hub for the electronics industry, Kunshan, in Jiangsu province, is seeking a drastic reduction in labour costs as it undergoes a makeover after an industrial explosion killed 146 people in 2014.
The county, one-seventh the size of neighbouring Shanghai and the mainland’s first county to achieve US$4,000 per capita income, was adjudged the best county for its economic performance by Forbes for seven years in a row.
However, the blaze, blamed on poor safety standards and haphazard industrialisation, dented Kunshan’s pride.
More than a year on, the county, which attracts much of its investment from Taiwan, is trying to reinvent its growth strategy. It is accelerating growth by replacing humans with robots and encouraging start-ups.
Thirty-five Taiwanese companies, including Apple’s supplier Foxconn, spent a total of 4 billion yuan (HK$4.74 billion) on artificial intelligence last year, according to the Kunshan government’s publicity department.
“The Foxconn factory has reduced its employee strength from 110,000 to 50,000, thanks to the introduction of robots. It has tasted success in reduction of labour costs,” said the department’s head Xu Yulian.
“More companies are likely to follow suit.”
As many as 600 major companies in Kunshan have similar plans, according to a government survey.
The job cuts do not augur well for Kunshan, which had a population of more than 2.5 million at the end of 2014, two-thirds of whom were migrant workers.
Factories and other buildings cover about 46 per cent of the land – a figure which is far higher than the cap set by the central government.
A fascinating 40 minutes documentary which aired on NHK Saturday May 4th 2013. Titled Robot Revolution: Will machines surpass humans? Features Honda Asimov, Hubo, Big Dog from Boston Dynamics, Baxter from Rethink Robotics, Nextage and other Humanoids.
French robotics startup Exotec has raised $90 million in a round of funding led by London-based VC firm 83North.
Founded out of Lille in 2015, Exotec develops autonomous industrial robots called Skypods that can move horizontally and vertically, and travel at speeds of up to 9mph. The robots constitute part of a “goods-to-person” picking system designed to improve productivity and reduce strain and physical exertion in human warehouse workers.
Ecommerce has boomed in 2020 due in large part to COVID-19, with online merchants seeing a 42% year-on-year increase in sales last month in the U.S. alone — data suggests that the global pandemic has led to an extra $107 billion in online sales since March. This surge in demand is good news for companies such as Exotec, which specialize in equipping large warehouses with the tools to pick and pack orders at scale.
The Skypod system comprises four core components. The battery-powered robots use laser scanners to detect obstacles, and can move horizontally along the ground and vertically, enabling them to reach goods stored high up. The storage racks themselves are also part of Exotec’s system, designed to house inventory at up to 32 feet high.
Philippe J DEWOST's insight:
Interestingly, Exotec differentiates from Kiva as it operates in 3D, and is deployed through a system approach.
Spécialiste de la robotisation des chariots de manutention, le français veut lever entre 30 et 50 millions d’euros sur Euronext.
Ils sont aux entrepôts de manutention ce que la voiture autonome est à la route : les chariots robotisés, capables de déplacer palettes et cartons sans intervention humaine, promettent de révolutionner le monde de la logistique. Le français Balyo, l'un des pionniers de ce nouveau secteur, a déposé mercredi son document de base auprès de l'AMF. L'entreprise espère lever « entre 30 et 50 millions d'euros » sur Euronext Paris, selon son PDG, Fabien Bardinet, qui espère réaliser l'introduction en Bourse« avant le début de l'été ».
Fondé en 2005, Balyo fournit des systèmes robotisés à deux fabricants de chariots élévateurs, l'américain Hyster et l'allemand Linde, plus connu en France sous la marque Fenwick. Le français conçoit des logiciels et un boîtier de contrôle qui, associés à des capteurs laser, transforment des chariots classiques en véhicules de manutention autonomes, pour déplacer et stocker les palettes en hauteur. Le tout sans nécessiter de système de guidage intégré au bâtiment (réflecteurs, peinture au sol...), car ils cartographient automatiquement leur environnement. Un système de sécurité leur permet de détecter les humains et les obstacles dans un rayon de 360 degrés.
Philippe J DEWOST's insight:
Un très bel investissement du Fonds Ambition Numérique, souscrit par la Caisse Des Dépôts dans le cadre du Programme d'Investissements d'Avenir, et géré par notre filiale Bpifrance.
In October of 2011, Mike Dobson and David Gilday’s CubeStormer II robot, built from Lego kits and powered by a Samsung Galaxy S2, set the world record for solving a Rubik’s Cube: 5.27 seconds. That time just narrowly defeated the best ever human time, marking the first time a robot had done so.
Now the two robot builders are at it again. At last weekend’s Big Bang Fair in Birmingham UK, the team brought their next creation: the CubeStormer 3. Again built from Lego mechanical and robotics parts and this time powered by a Samsung Galaxy S4, the robot shattered the record set by the CubeStormer II by solving a Rubik’s Cube in only 3.253 seconds – which is not only faster than the CubeStormer II, but also faster than the fastest human time of 5.55 secondsset by Mats Valk.
Philippe J DEWOST's insight:
Watch carefully as it is really really fast. Raising the question: will robots have as much fun as we do when we play ?
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Curling, in its human version, is all about cooperation. How will broom holders cooperate with a robotic launcher as it seems it doesn't need help anymore ? It this still curling after all ?