Robots poised for \u2018ChatGPT moment\u2019, says Unitree CEO<\/p>\n
The industry is nearing a breakthrough where robots can be placed in\nunfamiliar environments and complete most tasks through simple voice or\ntext instructions, says Unitree CEO Wang Xingxing.<\/p>\n
BEIJING: The CEO of Chinese humanoid robot unicorn Unitree said on\nThursday (Aug 20) that the industry is edging towards a \u201cChatGPT moment\u201d\nfor robot brains, after the company\u2019s blockbuster Shanghai listing\ncrystallised China\u2019s ambitions to lead the next frontier of artificial\nintelligence-powered machines.<\/p>\n
Shares in China\u2019s best-known humanoid robot maker fell 11 per cent on\nThursday, a day after soaring nearly sixfold in their market debut,\nhighlighting intense investor enthusiasm for a fledgling sector that\nenjoys strong backing from Beijing.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are marching towards a \u2018ChatGPT moment\u2019 in embodied\nintelligence,\u201d said Wang Xingxing, the Hangzhou-based startup\u2019s founder\nand CEO, at the World Robot Conference in Beijing.<\/p>\n
The global AI boom that has reshaped the world economy was sparked in\nlate 2022 by ChatGPT\u2019s breakthrough large language model, a watershed\nmoment that drove mass adoption.<\/p>\n
No comparable inflexion point has yet emerged for world models, the\nphysical AI simulation systems designed to help robots understand and\nnavigate real-world environments.<\/p>\n
Wang said the industry is nearing a breakthrough where robots can be\nplaced in unfamiliar environments and complete most tasks through simple\nvoice or text instructions.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe hope that in the future, we can see a robot be introduced into an\nunfamiliar household and it can achieve approximately 80 per cent of\ntasks successfully through voice or text commands,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is an important tipping point for the robot industry to usher in\nexplosive growth.\u201d<\/p>\n
MAJOR LEAP IN ROBOT SOFTWARE STILL A FEW YEARS AWAY<\/p>\n
At the same time, Wang cautioned that a major leap in robot software\ncould arrive within two to three years in an optimistic scenario, or\nwithin five to 10 years at the latest.<\/p>\n
\u201cRelative to the mood around World Robot Conference and Unitree\u2019s\nspectacular IPO, Wang Xingxing was notably sober about current\ncapabilities,\u201d said Georg Stieler, head of automation at robotics\nconsultancy Stieler.<\/p>\n
Unitree is the world\u2019s largest producer of robot dogs and the\nsecond-biggest maker of humanoid robots by shipments, according to\nindustry data.<\/p>\n
It rose to fame with impressively choreographed performances of\nrobots dancing and performing gongfu showcased on Chinese television,\nand is increasingly deploying its machines in real-world industrial\nsettings. Its IPO prospectus shows most customers are universities and\nresearch institutions.<\/p>\n
Wang He, founder of Chinese robotic startup Galbot, expects the\nsector\u2019s \u201cChatGPT moment\u201d to arrive by 2028, defining it as the point\nwhen robots can perform about 70 per cent to 80 per cent of everyday\ntasks without specialised training.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith continued accumulation of data and further technological\nbreakthroughs, we expect to reach the \u2018ChatGPT moment\u2019 for embodied\nintelligence by 2028,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Unitree\u2019s Wang said the company\u2019s biggest current investment in terms\nof capital and manpower is in world models and that it is \u201clagging\nbehind\u201d in the real-world application of physical AI models.<\/p>\n
He also said humanoids are not yet capable enough for mass\ndeployment, pointing to limitations in the AI models that power robots\u2019\ndecision-making and interactions as the industry\u2019s biggest\nbottleneck.<\/p>\n
Even so, Wang expects the sector to enter a decade of rapid\nautonomous evolution of humanoid robots, as the AI boom accelerates and\nAI language models learn to improve themselves.<\/p>\n
DOMINANCE IN GLOBAL HUMANOID MARKET<\/p>\n
China delivered over 40,000 humanoids in the first half of this year\nalone, and accounts for 97 per cent of global shipments of humanoid\nrobots, a Chinese humanoid industry body said in a report Thursday.<\/p>\n
Beijing is betting that robots can eventually replace human labour in\nrepetitive, low-value and dangerous settings as it faces a shrinking\nworkforce due to demographic decline.<\/p>\n
While humanoids are gradually being introduced to factory floors and\nlogistics warehouses, they remain less efficient than human workers in\nmost applications.<\/p>\n
Humanoid robots have also become a new front in the United\nStates-China technology rivalry.<\/p>\n
Last month, the US Federal Communications Commission banned future\nimports of foreign-made humanoid and quadruped robots citing national\nsecurity concerns, in a major blow to Chinese producers.<\/p>\n
Several companies at the World Robot Conference in Beijing told\nReuters they were looking to expand overseas.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/robots-poised-for-chatgpt-moment-says-unitree-ceo-1787205009", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }