A universal AI ‘brain’ ideal for robot retrofits

Does this tech mark the dawn of smarter, autonomous robots?

Spotted: Historically, robots have been the stuff of science fiction, and even though robotics technology has come on leaps and bounds in recent years, these machines have typically lacked the intelligence to respond to a changing environment a complete tasks in a ‘human’ way. Skild AI hopes to change that with its robotics foundation model – or robot ‘brain’.

The Pennsylvania-based company was founded by two Carnegie Mellon University professors Deepak Pathak and Abhinav Gupta, who used their expertise in robotics and computer science to develop the Skild Brain, a general-purpose model that has been trained on 1,000 times more data points than its competitors, according to the company.

Instead of designing a robot for a specific function, the idea is that the Skild Brain embodied system could be retrofitted into virtually any kind of robot, whether that’s a two-legged humanoid machine or a more resilient quadruped.

Once installed, the embodied AI system could, in theory, fulfil a huge range of tasks across various industries, including construction and manufacturing, as well as complete activities within the home. In particular, this kind of technology could revolutionise dangerous jobs like working in oil rigs or with heavy machinery, helping human workers to stay safe as they work alongside these new machines. Plus, intelligent robots could also help to fill growing labour gaps in industries like logistics, construction, and even healthcare.

Last month, Skild AI raised $300 million in a Series A funding round led by Coatue, Lightspeed Venture Partners, SoftBank, and Jeff Bezos’ Bezos Expeditions.

Written By: Matilda Cox