[ad_1]
Tech startup Mentee Robotics has unveiled its flagship robot, Mentee, whose prototype is able to listen to voice commands to complete a range of different tasks. The MenteeBot uses large language AI models (LLMs) to “think” through tasks from start to finish, making its own decisions along the way. The robot is 5’8 in height, weighs about 154 pounds, and is expected to be released sometime in early 2025, according to an announcement. “We are on the cusp of a convergence of computer vision, natural language understanding, strong and detailed simulators, and methodologies on and for transferring from simulation to the real world,” said Mentee Robotics Chairman Asmnon Shashua in a statement. “At Mentee Robotics we see this convergence as the starting point for designing the future general-purpose bi-pedal robot that can move everywhere (as a human) with the brains to perform household tasks and learn through imitation tasks it was not previously trained for.”Multiple videos show Mentee at work. In one, the robot is able to determine the location of a kitchen table in an office environment, place fruit in a box without damaging it, and move the box to a specific location. Mentee has a “voice” that the robot uses to communicate when tasks are nearly complete or to affirm that it’s heard the task. It’s able to navigate its environments without them being pre-programmed, as Mentee uses algorithms to map out the 3D physical space around it in real-time, determines its own relative location, and is able to avoid obstacles as a result.
The robot is also able to hold and pass plates and other household objects without breaking them, will change the way it walks when it’s carrying heavier objects, and can walk sideways or bend its “knees” and “elbows.” Mentee has some tread on its feet, which are otherwise flat, but it’s unclear how the robot might fare on uneven terrain.Mentee is designed for warehouses, homes, and other indoor spaces. The startup’s website delineates between a “domestic assistant” version and a warehouse version. Mentee will be able to carry up to 55 pounds and run for up to five hours on a single charge. The house helper version will be able to handle tasks like doing laundry, placing cutlery and dishes for meals, and learn to complete other chores in real-time, Mentee Robotics says.
Recommended by Our Editors
MenteeBot’s creators claim their bot can essentially tap into “unlimited” training data because it uses the simulation-to-reality (Sim2Real) machine learning method, which means the bot is trained in a simulated environment and those learnings are then applied to its real-world tasks.MenteeBot’s ability to “think” through requests without much human interference is similar to the recently announced AI software engineer, Devin, that’s also able to complete complex tasks. But robotics takes AI into the physical world, allowing the tech to handle tedious, dangerous, or challenging physical tasks. Mercedes recently announced it’s using humanoid robots from Apptronik to help out on its assembly lines, and Apple is also reportedly working on two different AI-powered home robotics products.
Get Our Best Stories!
Sign up for What’s New Now to get our top stories delivered to your inbox every morning.
This newsletter may contain advertising, deals, or affiliate links. Subscribing to a newsletter indicates your consent to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You may unsubscribe from the newsletters at any time.
[ad_2]
