We’re already seeing humanoid robots enter the workplace in limited trials, but when will we be able to kick back and let the service droid take care of the housework? A new video from German company Neura Robotics shows that this dream is getting closer and closer to reality.
Founded in 2019 near Stuttgart, Germany, Neura Robotics has since launched industrial robotic arms and manipulators, a mobile mobile platform and a multi-purpose assistant.
The company has also been working on a universal humanoid called 4NE-1 for the past couple of years, and has now shown off a few of its capabilities in a promotional video – which was released to highlight Neura joining forces with NVIDIA to speed things up. humanoid evolution.
NEURA x NVIDIA team up to redefine the future of robotics
The footage shows the humanoid helper carrying out a range of menial or tedious household chores – from ironing to food preparation – while cleaning up spills on the table or entertaining the children. The hilariously named bot is seen operating machinery and lifting equipment around the workspace to highlight its industrial potential before introducing other members of the Neura family.
It is not clear if teleoperation was involved, but the video mentions training the system in a simulated environment. The 4NE-1 is said to be 1.8 m (5.9 ft) tall and weigh 80 kg (176 lb). It has 3D sensors in its torso for 360-degree vision and is capable of moving at speeds of up to 3 km/h (1.8 mph).
The head is also a status display, voice recognition is ready, and the robot tackles tasks through reinforcement learning. It can work autonomously or be controlled remotely and is capable of lifting and carrying objects up to 15 kg (33 lb).
Manipulation of these objects takes place thanks to human hands at the end of jointed arms, although the forearms can be swapped out for something more concrete if needed. The on-board sensors are said to offer force-torque feedback for all moving joints – enabling smooth, stable and precise movement. And the company boasts that it has also developed a special AI-driven sensor “that can detect people and other moving objects even when the sensor’s view is obscured.”
Neura Robotics
All Neura robots will benefit from early access to the NVIDIA Humanoid Robot Developer Program, which includes inference microservices that “help developers train physical machines and improve how they handle complex tasks” and OSMO cloud orchestration and scaling for running multi-stage workloads. plus AI training workflows/teleoperation simulation.
“By combining Neura’s innovative cognitive robotics solutions with NVIDIA’s advanced computing power and simulation platforms, we will push the boundaries of humanoid robotics even faster,” said Neura founder David Reger.
NVIDIA also provides AI supercomputers to train the models, another platform “where robots can learn and hone their skills in simulated worlds,” and Jetson Thor humanoid robotic computers to run the models. Neura partners and customers are set to get access to the entry-level NVIDIA Project GR00T model starting in September. The production timeline for the 4NE-1 humanoid has not been revealed at this time.
Source: Neura Robotics