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Part 1 : CMU ’s Matthew Johnson - Roberson

This week , we ’ve arrive a two - fer . Toyota Research Institute ’s Russ Tedrake and Max Bajracharya split the job . Tedrake is TRI ’s vice chairwoman of Robotics Research . He is also MIT ’s Toyota Professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science , Mechanical Engineering and Aero / Astro . Bajracharya is TRI ’s senior frailty president of Robotics . He previously served as the Institute ’s music director of Robotics .

What role(s ) will generative AI play in the hereafter of robotics ?

Russ Tedrake : Generative AI has the electric potential to bring revolutionary Modern capability to robotics . Not only are we able-bodied to pass along with robots in innate language , but plug in to internet - scale language and image data point is move over robots a much more full-bodied understanding and reason about the human race . But we are still in the other day ; more work is take to understand how to bray figure of speech and terminology knowledge in the eccentric of strong-arm intelligence required to make robot truly useful .

What are your opinion on the humanoid shape factor ?

Max Bajracharya : Places where golem might assist people be given to be designed for citizenry , so these robots will likely need to fit and work in those environments . However , that does not mean they need to take a humanoid ( two arms , five - feel hands , two legs and a brain ) form factor ; merely , they demand to be compact , safe and subject of human - same tasks .

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Max Bajracharya : I see a good deal of potentiality and needs in husbandry , but the outdoor and unstructured nature of many of the tasks is very challenging . Toyota Ventures has invested in a duo of companionship like Burro and Agtonomy , which are making good progress in fetch autonomy to some initial farming applications .

How far out are true oecumenical - determination robots ?

Russ Tedrake : I am affirmative that the field can make firm progress from the relatively niche golem we have today towards more universal - aim robots . It ’s not absolved how long it will take , but whippy automation , high - mix manufacturing , agricultural robots , point - of - serving robots and likely new industries we have n’t imagined yet will do good from increase storey of self-direction and more and more world-wide capacity .

Will home golem ( beyond vacuum ) take off in the next decennium ?

Max Bajracharya : dwelling remain a hard challenge for robots because they are so divers and unstructured , and consumer are price - sensitive . The future tense is difficult to predict , but the field of study of robotics is advance very quickly .

What important robotics story / tendency is n’t catch enough coverage ?

Russ Tedrake : We get wind a lot these days about generative AI and about the incredible advance and investments in hardware . Many of these success , though , were made potential by the quiet rotation that we ’ve check in model . Only a few geezerhood ago , most roboticists would have pronounce it was out of the question to train or try out a computer visual sense system in feigning ; now it ’s stock practice . Some researchers are still disbelieving that we could arise a ascendency system for , say , a deft deal completely in pretence and have it work in realness , but the trend is increasingly moving this way . Big investiture from companies like Nvidia , Google DeepMind and TRI are helping to make this bechance .