Nvidia unveils its generative AI model for humanoid robots, GR00T: 5 things to know

Nvidia The unveiling A general purpose generator Artificial intelligence (AI) platform for humanoid robots dubbed GR00T earlier this week. The platform comes with both hardware and software solutions for humanoid robots and can equip them with capabilities that enable them to perform complex tasks and learn new tasks through human-assisted inputs. . The AI ​​model is paired with the company’s new chipset called the Jetson Thor, which will boost AI capabilities. Nvidia revealed that the GR00T was developed with the help of its Isaac Robotics platform, which has also received several upgrades for the end-to-end development of platforms for humanoid robots.

to announce GR00T, short for Generalist Robot 00 Technology, said Jensen Huang, founder and CEO of Nvidia, “Building a foundation model for general humanoid robots is one of the most exciting problems to solve in AI today.” The statement echoes decades of research into humanoid robots that can not only look like us, but also act like us. While researchers have created robots that come close in terms of appearance and certain functions such as playing football. Robot ARTEMIS Developed at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), the quest has always been to develop a powerful enough software platform to handle complex human movements and information about the surrounding world. can do With the GR00T, Nvidia has taken a big step in that direction. Here are five things you should know about this monumental development.

Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang unveiled the GR00T.
Photo credit: YouTube/Nvidia

GR00T AI model

Looking at Huang’s Nvidia session, it’s easy to mistake the GR00T for a humanoid robot. GPU A keynote at the Technology Conference (GTC) in San Jose featured several robots featured in Disney projects on stage with him. However, GR00T is not a robot. Instead, it can be thought of as the brain of a robot.

What Nvidia has created is a creative AI model that can power robots in exactly the same way. Open AI GPT-4 to ChatGPT and Google Gemini Pro powers Gemini. Chatbot. AI models have an algorithmic architecture and dataset that enables it to generate information and perform specific tasks. The AI ​​models that form the basis of the chatbots and AI tools we use are also called foundation models. As such, the GR00T is a foundation model.

What does GR00T do?

As the robot’s brain, Nvidia’s GR00T AI model is responsible for taking inputs and processing outputs. Nvidia said the Foundation model can take text, speech, videos and live demonstrations of humans as input. This means that any GR00T-powered robot can be instructed to do something verbally, through written text, through video, and even by showing it how to do something.

During the demonstration, Huang said that one Robot Moving towards it and it happened. Ideally, robots could see a human doing a push-up and perform it. Video inputs will work similarly and watching a drummer’s jamming session should also teach him how to play the drums, but probably not as effectively.

The Jetsons Thor Chipset character

While the GR00T is the most important part of the software platform for humanoid robots, it is not the only part. At the event, Jensen also introduced a chipset called the Jetson Thor. This chipset is what will power the robot. The AI ​​SoC is based on Nvidia Thor chipsets and is built on the company’s Isaac Robotics platform. The chip has been made powerful enough to help the GR00T work seamlessly, the company said. The SoC comes with specific enhancements for generative AI models and tools for simulation and AI workflow infrastructure.

Isaac Robotics Platform

Another important part of the GR00T ecosystem is the Isaac Robotics Platform. The platform has also been upgraded to feature various tools that can enable end-to-end development of AI-based robots. This process includes development, simulation and deployment and is performed using specific digital platforms and computers to power them. Let’s break it down.

Huang stands next to one of the robots built using the GR00T.
Photo credit: YouTube/Nvidia

While the GR00T AI model enables humanoid robots to learn on the job, the robots must have some idea of ​​the world in which they will be performing the tasks and a basic understanding of how to perform them. This requires building a robot training ground where they can learn how to become robots before going out into the world.

This is what the Isaac Robotics Platform does. It is a gym for AI-powered robots and through simulation in the virtual world and training in the real world, it can deploy ready-to-work functional robots. For GPU-driven simulations, Nvidia uses its new Isaac Lab, which is based on Isaac Sim. Platform. Additionally, Nvidia is using its own OSMO compute. Platform and OVX and DGX systems to simultaneously train robots.

The future of robotics

Nvidia’s GR00T AI system is a major leap forward in the technology used to train and deploy robots that approach artificial general intelligence (AGI). For the uninitiated, AGI is the branch of AI that develops capabilities that are human-like. These include cognitive tasks as well as physical tasks.

Recently, OpenAI also began its work on AGI in collaboration with 1X Technologies and Figure, two robotics startups that will use the AI ​​firm’s models to power their machines.

However, it is still early days for humanoid robots. Despite doomsday warnings from AI researchers that we could end up in a future Terminator movie world where the AI ​​Skynet masters humans, there’s still a long way to go. Both Nvidia and OpenAI are in their early stages of developing robotics technologies and currently it is unlikely that robots powered by them will be able to handle complex tasks without human supervision. But it’s a start, and in a decade’s time we could see humanoid robots enter the workforce and work alongside humans. How it will change the world is something no one can predict.

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