Not everything is ChatGPT and GPT-4 in the world of Open AI. The company, which today is on everyone’s lips for its developments in artificial intelligence, also intends to be part of the revolution of humanoid robots. This is demonstrated by a recent investment in 1X Technologies, a Norwegian startup that is dedicated to the development of such devices.
The European firm is one of the many that have emerged in the last decade in the field of robotics applied to the design of devices that replicate human characteristics. Its name was originally Halodi Robotics, but this past March it was renamed 1X Technologies; and within the same month, raised more than $23 million in a round of funding led by OpenAI.
It is not yet known what Sam Altman’s startup intends in the field of humanoid robots. However, it is logical to think that those from San Francisco intend to take advantage of the capabilities of their language models, such as GPT-4, to insert them into a device capable of moving autonomously to perform domestic tasks or in work environments.
OpenAI invests in a humanoid robot firm
Although 1X Technologies is based in Norway, today it has more than 50 employees around the world. The company, which was founded in 2014, claims to have developed “a unique actuator system” which, paired with AI, is already being used in a commercialized robot in the US corporate arena. However, his aspirations are much more ambitious.
The company today financed by OpenAI has already shown a humanoid robot called EVE, who is able to perform different daily tasks. From picking up objects and putting them in a box, to opening doors and crossing through them. However, it is a design whose mobility depends on wheels, which drastically limits its action scenario, especially when compared to efforts such as Atlas, Boston Dynamics, or Elon Musk’s Tesla Bot.
However, 1X Technologies plans to take a big leap hand in hand with neo, his next humanoid robot. His characteristics and capabilities are still a mystery, but at least it is known that he abandons the wheels and incorporates legs. The only promotional image of the device – the one that appears on the cover of this article – shows an interesting design, although we will have to wait until the summer for it to be officially presented.
A piece of information that could be crucial to know what OpenAI’s involvement in this startup is about appears in the description of the new android. According to the company, NEO “will explore how artificial intelligence can take shape in a human-like body”.
Returning to the path of robotics
Robotics is not an area that is unknown to those led by Sam Altman. In fact, long before ChatGPT became world news and the advances in its language models, OpenAI had its own area dedicated to research and development of technologies related to this field.
It is true that the Californians never arrived at a project of the dimensions of a complete humanoid robot. But at least they have experience working with parts of them. Let’s not forget that in 2019 the company made headlines for teaching a robotic hand to solve a Rubik’s cube.
Although it is also a reality that OpenAI’s efforts in this field came to an abrupt end in 2021, when he closed his robotics lab. Since then, he has devoted his resources to pursuing the development of artificial general intelligence, with a focus on GPT language models and tools like ChatGPT.
But this does not mean that the company’s AI is no longer used by other robotic projects. One of the most striking is Amecaa humanoid robot that can not only start a conversationbut also generate facial expressions using GPT-3. A curious case, without a doubt, is that its own developers have already tested it with GPT-4, but have not obtained good results. Specifically, they mentioned that the processing time is longer, and that the responses from the android are not as expected.