TMTPOST -- Marc Raibert, the founder of Boston Dynamics, has confirmed his participation in the 2024 T-EDGE Conference in Beijing on December 6-7. He will deliver a speech titled the Future of Dynamic Intelligent Robots, marking his first time in China explaining his vision for the robotics era.
Raibert once envisioned a future where robots walking in the streets would become as commonplace as the air around the humans. When robots become so integrated into daily life that no one even notices them, then they will have truly been popularized. Will this vision come true? Join us at the 2024 T-EDGE Conference to explore new models and the future of humanity through a conversation with Raibert.
With Raibert’s participation, this year’s T-EDGE Conference will reveal an unprecedented international lineup, with innovators from China, the U.S., Canada, the Middle East, India, and other regions coming together in Beijing to drive international collaboration and innovation exchange. Stay tuned for more major international guest announcements.
The 2024 T-EDGE Conference will host tech and business leaders at the forefront of the times, discussing the impact of cutting-edge technology on industries and the global economy. In a globalized context, the conference will also explore new trends in corporate development.
With the theme “ALL in on Globalization, ALL in on AI,” this year’s T-EDGE aims to lead AI-driven innovation in global markets and explore how AI is reshaping the future, promoting global economic integration, and creating new opportunities in cross-border industries.
The format of the T-EDGE 2024 has become more interactive and community-focused, which has enhanced dialogue and social engagement. Starting this year, the T-EDGE will no longer offer free tickets, raising the barrier to entry to foster high-quality interactions within the global innovation community. Participants who purchase tickets will join the T-EDGE global innovation community, with opportunities to attend over ten international events around the world in the coming year.
The Atlas robot, developed by a Boston Dynamics team led by Raibert, is no longer what it used to be—it's no longer just about showing off dance moves, parkour, and backflips.
On October 30, Boston Dynamics released a new video of its bipedal humanoid robot Atlas, which quickly went viral worldwide. In the video, Atlas, working in Toyota’s manufacturing environment in Japan, autonomously navigates, detects boxes and items, and handles tasks on the car assembly line without any human intervention, all thanks to machine learning and self-developed AI models.
When an annoying worker in the video moved a box of parts, Atlas paused for a few seconds, found the correct position, and resumed its task. This indicates that the new Atlas is not only adaptable to changing parts and complex movements but also capable of reprocessing failed actions. Most importantly, this is no longer a pre-programmed demo. With advanced sensor technology and adaptive capabilities, Atlas explores a feasible path for industrial robots to operate independently in real-world environments.
Unlike the previous hydraulic-powered systems, the new generation of Atlas uses fully electric drive, which is simpler to maintain, more cost-effective, and more energy-efficient. Its precision control and response speed are superior, making it highly adaptable to various applications.
Moreover, Atlas’s capabilities go beyond AI alone. It is designed with visual recognition and behavioral databases, which help it navigate complex environments, efficiently execute tasks, and make decisions. This innovation offers important insights for the development of future humanoid robots.
The key figure to Atlas’s success is Raibert, who pioneered the age of robotic mobility. Raibert predicted earlier this year, “In the future, an era of intelligent robots that can think for themselves and solve problems will open.”
In June of this year, Raibert took on a new role as the Executive Director of the Artificial Intelligence Institute. Even before the advent of ChatGPT in 2022, he was already focused on combining AI with dynamic robots. The Institute, located in Massachusetts, near Harvard and MIT, was established with $400 million from Hyundai Motor Group and focuses on the future of robotics. Its key research areas are cognitive AI, motion AI, organic hardware design, ethics, and policy.
While large language models (LLMs) are transforming the world, Raibert believes they are just one type of AI model. His work focuses on creating AI models that allow robots to perceive the world through cameras and interact with it, aiming to enable robots to observe and learn like humans, and perform fine tasks with their hands.
Raibert has divided AI research into two categories: motion intelligence and cognitive intelligence. In some respects, Boston Dynamics, founded by Raibert, has set the standard for motion intelligence, including mechanical design and real-time control. However, Raibert believes the future mission of his institute is to address the standards of human "learning intelligence."
When the first Atlas video was uploaded to YouTube in 2016, millions around the world saw this humanoid robot perform delicate obstacle courses, stumbling, flipping back, and running on a balance beam. Atlas's movements, with simulated pain from falls and a wave to finish, instantly made the concept of humanoid robots global. Boston Dynamics, the creator behind Atlas, became a sensation worldwide.
Thirty-two years ago or in 1992, Raibert founded Boston Dynamics after leaving Carnegie Mellon University’s Leg Laboratory, which he had established in 1980 to lay the scientific foundation for later developments in dynamic robots. At that time, he was also teaching at MIT and Carnegie Mellon, where Raibert developed the first self-balancing jumping robot.
Today, with 30 years of development, the humanoid robot field has attracted many star players, including Tesla, and China has become a crucial player in the global humanoid robot manufacturing industry. Raibert, who has always defined robots as a perfect combination of science and art, is now poised to shape the future of dynamic intelligent robots.
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