AI robotics startup company Figure has officially released an update footage for its OpenAI-powered robot, Figure 1. The 2-and-a-half-minute footage shows the humanoid robot answering questions and reasoning whilst showcasing its capabilities in doing physical tasks such as handing an apple.
The video reportedly showed that when someone asks Figure 1 what the robot sees, Figure 1 responds by talking through the object on the table in front of it, demonstrating the robot's sophisticated verbal, visual, and natural language processing skills.
The robot then demonstrates its capacity to reason through a scenario and provide based on that processing in an even more amazing way when the user asks Figure 1 for something to eat. The robot answers by selecting the apple from the objects before it.
(Photo: KARIM SAHIB/AFP via Getty Images)
The Ameca humanoid robot greets visitors at Dubai's Museum of the Future, on October 11, 2022.
To add to the humanistic feel, Figure 1 supports a somewhat natural male voice tone with a distinct roughness to it while answering questions. The AI-powered robot also stuttered in several instances during the video, sounding more like a person while conversing. As per an OpenAI Developer forum, Figure 1's stutters could be its programming, possibly to make it sound more like a human.
Delving deeper into Figure 1's voice, "Technology is not Neutral" author Stephanie Hare, claimed, during an interview with BBC, that Figure 1's accent and word choice could be attributed to how people from the "United States West Coast" speak.
OpenAI's Voice in Figure's Body
According to the post, Figure neural networks and OpenAI models power the robot. Figure 1 is reportedly provided with advanced visual and linguistic intelligence by OpenAI. Conversely, Figure's neural network produces quick, simple, and agile robot movements.
Even though Figure seems to be moving closer to its objective, sources claim that it is simple to edit any film that is produced and to create a demo that is as impressive as possible. Hare repeated this idea as well, raising concerns about Figure 1's functionality in the absence of as explicit instructions as they were in the film.
AI-Robot Demand
Last month, in a $2.6 billion fundraising round, investors raised $675 million for the AI-powered office robot. According to Figure's CEO and founder, Brett Adcock, the company plans to utilize the funding to boost employment, expedite production, and develop comprehensive language models for robotics. Adcock also said that the company is moving its AI training and infrastructure to Microsoft Azure.
According to Figure, the need for humanoid robots will only grow over time due to the over 10 million dangerous or unattractive professions in the US alone, as well as the growing challenge of businesses trying to expand their workforce due to an aging population.
The potential for robot-human contact and collaboration has been enhanced by AI-powered software, which has rekindled investor interest in humanoid robots. By the 2040s, Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, expects there will be one billion humanoid robots on the planet. He recently revealed the creation of the company's most recent humanoid robot, the Optimus Gen.
