Nvidia has unveiled a new model which could form the foundation of future humanoid robotics projects, representing a step forward toward a reality of generalist robots.
The Nvidia Isaac Groot N1 model is open source and fully customizable for various robotics uses, inspired by the way that humans think. It consists of two systems, one of which is fast-reacting, similar to human reflexes, while the other is slower-thinking for careful decision making.
The slower system can perform reasoning, such as assessing its environment and planning out how to perform a commanded action. Then the faster system can turn that plan quickly into a series of movements for the robot to perform. The model can also generalize, so it can learn from handling one object about how to handle other kinds of objects too.
The model will be available worldwide to robotics developers, who can build on it to meet their own particular robotics needs. A humanoid robot from 1X trained on Groot N1 was used to demonstrate the capabilities, autonomously performing a tidying up task for the home.
“The future of humanoids is about adaptability and learning,” said Bernt Børnich, CEO of 1X Technologies. “While we develop our own models, NVIDIA’s GR00T N1 provides a significant boost to robot reasoning and skills. With minimal post-training data, we fully deployed on NEO Gamma — advancing our mission of creating robots that are not just tools, but companions capable of assisting humans in meaningful, immeasurable ways.”
Other well-known names in robotics including Boston Dynamics and Agility Robotics have already gained access to Groot N1 for their development, and Nvidia says it is working on a whole family of related pre-trained robotics models.
“The age of generalist robotics is here,” said Jensen Huang, founder and CEO of NVIDIA. “With NVIDIA Isaac GR00T N1 and new data-generation and robot-learning frameworks, robotics developers everywhere will open the next frontier in the age of AI.”
In 1950, Alan Turing asked whether machines can think. Rather than argue over definitions, he turned the question into a party game, where an interrogator trades typed messages with hidden players and tries to work out who is who. Since then, chatbots have gotten so good that they have already fooled humans in modern versions of the test.
So, four researchers from Paris Cité University asked the obvious follow-up question in a new study published in Computers in Human Behavior Reports: can AI at least catch its own kind?
Mozilla is giving Firefox’s Smart Window two new tricks. If you haven’t tried it yet, Smart Window is an optional AI mode in Firefox with a built-in chat that helps you get things done while you browse. With this update, it can fill out online forms using details from your tabs and keep an eye on websites for you.
Tired of typing the same details into every form?
The absolutely absurd idea of putting a touchscreen display on a mouse isn't exactly new. Turtle Beach already did it with its Command Series MC7, which features a 2.25-inch control screen. But apparently, even that wasn't ridiculous enough for Arctic Fox Technologies. Its new Super Mouse looks like someone took the chunky old Atari ST mouse, slapped a touchscreen and scroll wheel on it, and called it an upgrade.
The result is a rather unusual-looking mouse that is now on Kickstarter, starting at $199. And as ridiculous as it looks, some of its features are genuinely intriguing.