Boston Dynamics Partners with Robotics & AI Institute to Improve Reinforcement Learning
Boston Dynamics Wednesday announced a partnership designed to bring improved reinforcement learning to its electric Atlas humanoid robot. The tie-up is with the Robotics & AI Institute (RAI Institute), earlier known as The Boston Dynamics AI Institute.
About the Partners
Both organizations were founded by Marc Raibert, a former MIT professor who served as Boston Dynamics’ CEO for 30 years. The Institute, founded in 2022, allows Raibert to continue the research that served as the foundation for Boston Dynamics. The Institute mirrors Toyota’s creation of TRI, or Toyota Research Institute, which announced its own partnership with Boston Dynamics in October, focused on the use of large behavior models (LBMs).
Ties to Hyundai
Both have ties to Hyundai. The Korean carmaker acquired Boston Dynamics back in 2021; Hyundai also funds the Institute, giving Raibert free rein to explore more experimental and bleeding-edge technologies than is possible in a commercial company.
Improving Reinforcement Learning
The twin partnerships are designed to improve the way Boston Dynamics’ electric Atlas humanoid learns new tasks. The Robotics & AI Institute deal is specifically focused on reinforcement learning, a method that operates through trial and error, similar to the way both humans and animals learn. Reinforcement learning has traditionally been extremely time-intensive, though the creation of effective simulation has allowed many processes to be carried out at once in a virtual setting.
Simulation-Based Learning
The Boston Dynamics/RAI Institute union kicked off earlier this month in Massachusetts. It’s the latest in a number of collaborations between the pair, including a joint effort to develop a reinforcement learning research kit for the quadrupedal Spot robot by Boston Dynamics (which is its familiar robot “dog”). The new work focuses on both transferring simulation-based learning to real-world settings and improving how the company’s humanoid Atlas moves through and interacts with physical environments.
Challenges and Opportunities
Pertaining to the latter, Boston Dynamics points to “dynamic running and full-body manipulation of heavy objects.” Both are examples of actions that require synchronization of the legs and arms. The humanoid’s bipedal form factor presents a number of unique challenges — and opportunities — when compared with Spot. Every activity is also subject to a broad range of forces, including balance, force, resistance, and motion.
Conclusion
Bigger picture, Raibert notes in a statement, “Our aim at RAI is to develop technology that enables future generations of intelligent machines. Working on Atlas with Boston Dynamics enables us to make advances in reinforcement learning on arguably the most sophisticated humanoid robot available. This work will play a crucial role in advancing the capabilities of humanoids not only by expanding its skillset, but also streamlining the process to achieve new skills.”
FAQs
Q: What is the focus of the partnership between Boston Dynamics and the Robotics & AI Institute?
A: The partnership is focused on improving reinforcement learning for Boston Dynamics’ electric Atlas humanoid robot.
Q: What is reinforcement learning?
A: Reinforcement learning is a method that operates through trial and error, similar to the way both humans and animals learn.
Q: What are the challenges of developing AI for humanoids?
A: The humanoid’s bipedal form factor presents a number of unique challenges, including balance, force, resistance, and motion, which require synchronization of the legs and arms.
Q: What is the significance of this partnership for the development of future intelligent machines?
A: The partnership will play a crucial role in advancing the capabilities of humanoids not only by expanding its skillset, but also streamlining the process to achieve new skills.
