Latest news with #Reachy2
Fox News
19-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Fox News
FoxNews AI Newsletter: 'Terminator' director James Cameron flip-flops on AI, says Hollywood is 'looking at it
IN TODAY'S NEWSLETTER: - 'Terminator' director James Cameron flip-flops on AI, says Hollywood is 'looking at it all wrong' - Nvidia announces plans to make AI supercomputers in US for first time - 4-legged hydrogen-powered robot you can actually ride 'I'LL BE BACK': James Cameron's stance on artificial intelligence has evolved over the past few years, and he feels Hollywood needs to embrace it in a few different ways. MADE IN AMERICA: Nvidia on Monday announced plans to manufacture its artificial intelligence supercomputers entirely in the U.S. for the first time. RIDEABLE 4-LEGGED ROOT: Kawasaki Heavy Industries has introduced something that feels straight out of a video game: CORLEO, a hydrogen-powered, four-legged robot prototype designed to be ridden by humans. Unveiled at the Osaka-Kansai Expo 2025, this futuristic machine is built to handle rugged terrain with ease, combining cutting-edge robotics and sustainable energy. AI LAB PARTNER: The folks at Hugging Face, the open-source artificial intelligence gurus, just jumped into the world of robotics by acquiring Pollen Robotics. And right out of the gate, they are offering the Reachy 2, a super-interesting humanoid robot designed as a "lab partner for the AI era." AI MIND READER: Researchers in California have achieved a significant breakthrough with an AI-powered system that restores natural speech to paralyzed individuals in real time, using their own voices, specifically demonstrated in a clinical trial participant who is severely paralyzed and cannot speak. ROBOT MILKS COWS: In a dairy barn managed by robots, cows can choose to be milked whenever they like, which is often more frequent than the twice-a-day schedule in traditional farms. This increased frequency is more comfortable for the cows and can lead to roughly a 10% increase in milk production. FOLLOW FOX NEWS ON SOCIAL MEDIA FacebookInstagramYouTubeTwitterLinkedIn SIGN UP FOR OUR OTHER NEWSLETTERS Fox News FirstFox News OpinionFox News LifestyleFox News Health DOWNLOAD OUR APPS Fox NewsFox BusinessFox WeatherFox SportsTubi WATCH FOX NEWS ONLINE STREAM FOX NATION Stay up to date on the latest AI technology advancements and learn about the challenges and opportunities AI presents now and for the future with Fox News here.
Fox News
18-04-2025
- Science
- Fox News
Can this $70,000 robot transform AI research?
The folks at Hugging Face, the open-source artificial intelligence gurus, just jumped into the world of robotics by acquiring Pollen Robotics. And right out of the gate, they are offering the Reachy 2, a super-interesting humanoid robot designed as a "lab partner for the AI era." Ready to dive in and see what all the buzz is about? So, what makes Reachy 2 stand out? Well, first off, it's a state-of-the-art humanoid robot already making waves in labs like Cornell and Carnegie Mellon. It's designed to be friendly and approachable, inviting natural interaction. This robot is open-source and VR-compatible, perfect for research, education and experimenting with embodied AI. The innovative Orbita joint system gives Reachy 2's neck and wrists smooth, multi-directional movement, making it remarkably expressive. Reachy 2 also features human-inspired arms. Its mobile base, equipped with omni wheels and lidar, allows for seamless navigation, and the VR teleoperation feature lets you literally see through the robot's eyes! Finally, its open-source nature fosters collaboration and customization, with Pollen Robotics providing a ton of resources on their Hugging Face organization. This humanoid robot combines advanced vision, audio and actuator systems for cutting-edge AI interaction and teleoperation. Here's a quick look at what Reachy 2 brings to the table. Standing between 4.46 and 5.45 feet tall and weighing in at 110 pounds, it features bio-inspired arms with 7 degrees of freedom, capable of handling payloads up to 6.6 pounds. It's also equipped with a parallel torque-controlled gripper and multiple cameras for depth perception, plus a high-quality audio system. Navigating its environment is a breeze thanks to its omnidirectional mobile base. When it comes to perception, Reachy 2 has a vision module in its head with dual RGB cameras and a Time-of-Flight module for depth measurement. There's also an RGB-D camera in its torso for accurate depth sensing. Immersive stereo perception is achieved through microphones in Reachy's antennas. For interaction, Reachy 2 has custom-built speakers with a high-quality amplifier and a Rode AI-Micro audio interface. Its expressive head is powered by an Orbita system, and it has motorized antennas for enhanced human-robot interaction. Reachy 2's manipulation capabilities stem from its Orbita 3D and 2D parallel mechanisms, along with a Dynamixel-based parallel gripper that features torque control. Controlling Reachy 2 is a Solidrun Bedrock v3000 unit, with AI processing handled on external hardware. Finally, the mobile base includes omnidirectional wheels, Hall sensors and IMU, an RP Lidar S2 and a LiFePO₄ Battery. Getting your hands on Reachy 2 will cost you $70,000, a price that reflects its cutting-edge robotics and AI components and open-source capabilities, making it a serious investment for researchers and educators looking to push the boundaries of human-robot interaction. So, what does Hugging Face scooping up Pollen Robotics really mean? Well, it could signal a big push toward making robotics more accessible. Think of it this way: Hugging Face co-founder Thomas Wolf and chief scientist at Hugging Face says, "We believe robotics could be the next frontier unlocked by AI, and it should be open, affordable, and private." Matthieu Lapeyre, Pollen Robotics co-founder, echoes this sentiment: "Hugging Face is a natural home for us to grow, as we share a common goal: putting AI and robotics in the hands of everyone." Hugging Face's acquisition of Pollen Robotics represents its fifth acquisition after Gradio and Xethub. This move solidifies Hugging Face's commitment to open-source AI and its vision for a future where AI and robotics are accessible to all. Bottom line? Hugging Face is making moves. Who knows, maybe one day we'll all have our own Reachy to help with the chores (or just keep us company). Either way, the collaboration between Hugging Face and Pollen Robotics is definitely worth keeping an eye on. If you could use a robot like Reachy 2 for any purpose, what would it be and why? Let us know by writing us at For more of my tech tips and security alerts, subscribe to my free CyberGuy Report Newsletter by heading to Follow Kurt on his social channels: Answers to the most-asked CyberGuy questions: New from Kurt: Copyright 2025 All rights reserved.
Forbes
14-04-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Open Source Humanoid Robots: Hugging Face Buys Pollen Robotics
Reachy 2 is an open source humanoid robot from Pollen Robotics, which was just bought by Hugging ... More Face. The open source AI community Hugging Face has bought open source humanoid robots company Pollen Robots, Hugging Face announced this morning. That's great news for pretty much every country that is not the USA or China, the two nations that lead the world in humanoid robotics startups and innovation. 'Super happy to announce that we are acquiring Pollen Robotics to bring open-source robots to the world,' Hugging Face said on X. 'Since Remi Cadene joined us from Tesla, we've become the most widely used software platform for open robotics thanks to LeRobotHF and the Hugging Face Hub. Now, we're taking it a step further by teaming up with Pollen, who is one of the only companies in the world that actually ships open-source humanoid robots!' Pollen Robotics currently offers Reachy 2, a roughly humanoid robot that anyone can buy today for $70,000. It's a rudimentary model right now that does not walk but moves on a wheeled mobile base or can be fixed in position. It does have advanced robotic arms with seven degrees of freedom for complex manipulation of objects, but only a 3 kilogram/6.6 pound lifting capacity per arm. Reachy 2 can be teleoperated with VR equipment, is fully open source, can be programmed in Python, and comes in multiple models with varying capability, but it's best seen as a proof of concept right now. It's certainly nowhere near the level of commercial models like 4NE-1 from Neura Robotics, Apollo from Apptronik, Figure 02 from Figure, Optimus from Tesla, or Digit from Agility Robotics. Nor would Reachy 2 vault Pollen Robotics on to this list of the top 16 humanoid robot manufacturers on the planet. But this deal is still significant. Humanoid robots are advancing in leaps and bounds. Credible industry observers see them as adding serious value to the workforce in a fairly short period of time: years not decades. If that does in fact occur, nations and companies that own and/or adopt these kinds of technologies will be significantly more competitive than those who do not. Over time and with mass manufacturing, the price of labor could approach zero, which fundamentally disrupts current economic and social models. Having open source humanoid robots could be a very valuable resource to those who do not develop the technology themselves. We've seen it before in software with Linux; it's theoretically possible in a hardware world as well. 'We believe robotics could be the next interface for AI — and it should be open, affordable, and hackable,' says Hugging Face. 'Our vision: a future where everyone from the community can build and control their own robot companions instead of relying on closed, expensive black boxes.' That's especially important if the alternative is that you acquire robots from a potentially unfriendly nation that leaves a backdoor in their robots which can turn them into surveillance devices for that nation, as recently appears to have happened with Unitree Robotics's robot dog Go-1. According to MSN, Hugging Face co-founder and chief scientist Thomas Wolf would like to make Reachy 2 (or Reachy 5, or 10) fully open source so that anyone could download schematics for the robot and potentially even 3D print their own. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed, but it appears that Pollen's entire team of about 20 will be joining Hugging Face, including Pollen's two co-founders, Matthieu Lapeyre and Pierre Rouanet.
WIRED
14-04-2025
- Business
- WIRED
An Open Source Pioneer Wants to Unleash Open Source AI Robots
Apr 14, 2025 9:00 AM Hugging Face has acquired the open source robot startup Pollen Robotics to help 'democratize' robotics. Hugging Face is helping to lead the charge on open source AI. Photograph:Hugging Face, a company that hosts open source artificial intelligence models and software, announced today that it has acquired Pollen Robotics, the French startup behind the bug-eyed, two-armed, humanoid robot called Reachy 2. Hugging Face plans to sell the robot and will also allow developers to download, modify, and suggest improvements to its code. 'It's really important for robotics to be as open source as possible,' says Clément Delangue, chief executive of Hugging Face. 'When you think about physical objects doing physical things at work and at home, the level of trust and transparency I need is much higher than for something I chat with on my laptop.' Simon Alibert and Rémi Cadene are research engineers in AI and robotics at Hugging Face. Courtesy of Hugging Face In videos shared by Pollen Robotics, Reachy 2 can be seen performing tricks like tidying coffee mugs and picking up fruit. Matthieu Lapeyre, cofounder and CEO of Pollen Robotics, says that several leading AI companies are using Reachy 2 to research robotic manipulation, although he says he can't name them due to confidentiality agreements. The ultimate goal is for people to use descendents of Reachy 2 in their homes. Lapeyre says that selling humanoid robots remains challenging because the use cases are unclear and the systems are still unreliable—though some companies are starting to find success. Today, the technology is mostly developed by a few well financed companies including Tesla, Figure, and Agility Robotics. 'With Hugging Face, we hope to democratize that,' he says. Many AI models, software frameworks, and tools that researchers and engineers rely on to build AI models and applications are already open source. This means the models are shared free of charge, with licenses that allow the code to be modified and reused. Making hardware open source typically means releasing designs, component details, and 3D models that allow pieces to be manufactured more easily. The availability of powerful open weight AI models (meaning downloadable but not necessarily fully open source) has made it easier for researchers and startups to experiment with cutting edge AI, as they can see how models work and modify the code. Delangue says that Hugging Face believes something similar is needed in robotics. 'Hopefully open source can unleash a wide and diverse range of [new robot] capabilities,' he says. Lapeyre adds that open sourcing hardware has a similar effect. Robot developers 'can [3D] print a part if something is broken,' he says, adding, 'if something is not perfect, they can make it a bit better by adding a new part.' The current AI boom has coincided with renewed interest in robotics, as the latest models help enable new advances in the capabilities of hardware systems. Some prominent researchers argue that AI will need a physical presence in order to match or surpass human intelligence, because that advancement may require a direct understanding of the physical world. The hype surrounding humanoid robots has led to some dubious claims. Some of the companies racing to build humanoid robots have posted demo videos on social media that seem to promise incredible abilities. But experts warn that such videos could be misleading. A system that seems extraordinary online could in fact be teleoperated by a person off camera; it could also fail if conditions change even slightly; or be unable to complete a task reliably. Delangue says the open source approach should make progress more transparent. 'You can't cheat, you can't hide with open source,' he explains. Hugging Face already hosts some open source robotics code. Delangue says that use of this code has spiked over the past year, reflecting growing interest in robotics generally. Some robotics researchers, especially those in academia, favor the open approach. 'Making robotics more accessible increases the velocity with which technology advances,' says Sergey Levine, an assistant professor at the University of California, Berkeley, and cofounder of Physical Intelligence, a startup working to develop vastly more capable and general purpose robotic models. Physical Intelligence made the first of its robot foundation models, Pi0, available on Hugging Face in February. The model allows a range of different robots to learn to do a variety of physical tasks. Levine says that researchers in academia and industry have already contributed valuable ideas and tweaks to his product. He adds there is potential for outsiders to contribute to the development of new hardware as well. 'There's a lot more creativity people can apply to how they build the actual physical hardware,' he says. The open approach appears to be gaining momentum across the AI industry. Meta was the first major AI company to offer a cutting edge open weight model when it released Llama in 2023. Several other cutting edge open weight models have followed. In January, a relatively unknown Chinese startup called DeepSeek shocked the tech industry and the stock market by releasing a powerful AI model that was reportedly developed at less cost than those made by US firms. Even OpenAI, the company at the center of the current boom, which has kept its most powerful models a closely-guarded secret, said this March that it would change its approach and release a free, open weight model this summer.
