[imagesource:figure]

You would be mistaken if you thought this creepy demo video of ‘Figure 01’ – a humanoid, conversational robot packed with OpenAI-tech – is a deleted scene from I, Robot.

Showing off its visual recognition prowess, the avant-garde robot accurately explains what’s in front of it: a red apple, a drying rack with dishes, and the man who asked Figure 01 what it can see.

It’s not exactly anything we haven’t seen before, but it is a little uncanny and creepy when the man asks, “Can I have something to eat?” and Figure 01 grabs the apple, clearly recognising that it’s the only edible object on the table, and hands it to him.

Will Smith, are you there?

The new Visual Language Model (VLM) is what is underpinning Figure 01’s seamless interaction with a human, transforming it from a clunky hunk of junk to a sci-fi-esque, futuristic robot that is a little too human-like.

The VLM stems from a collaboration with OpenAI and Figure, the startup behind Figure 01.

According to Brett Adcock, the founder of Figure, Figure 01 has onboard cameras that feed the VLM data that helps it “understand” the scene in front of it, allowing the robot to smoothly interact with the human in front of it. Alongside Adcock, Figure 01 is the brainchild of several key players from Boston Dynamics, Tesla, Google Deep Mind, and Archer Aviation.

Adcock boasted that Figure 01 is not teleoperated – a nice little dig at Elon Musk, as unlike Optimus, which went viral for folding a shirt, Figure 01 can operate independently.

Adcock’s very I, Robot-esque goal is to eventually train a super-advanced AI system to control billions of humanoid robots, potentially revolutionising multiple industries.

Be afraid, be very afraid.

[source:mashable]