Meta, the parent company of Facebook, plans to invest in AI-powered humanoid robots. To facilitate this, the company is setting up a new division within its Reality Labs unit. These robots will be capable of performing various physical tasks.
Through this new initiative, Meta will be able to compete with robotics companies like NVIDIA and Tesla. NVIDIA has already created a humanoid robot named “Figure AI,” while Tesla has developed one called “Optimus.”
Meta’s Chief Technology Officer, Andrew Bosworth, stated that the robotics product group will focus on research and development of “consumer humanoid robots,” with the goal of maximizing the capabilities of the LLaMA platform.
LLaMA is the name of Meta’s main AI foundation model series, which supports a large portion of the company’s growing generative AI products
Meta believes that expanding into this field will add significant value to its AI and mixed and augmented reality programs.
The group will be led by Mark Whitten, who was previously the CEO of the self-driving car company Cruise. Meta has appointed him as the vice president of robotics.
Chief Technology Officer Andrew Bosworth said that Meta has also appointed John Korail as the retail vice president. Korail was previously the CEO of the second-hand e-commerce company “The RealReal.” He has been hired to help Meta’s AI wearable products, like the Quest mixed reality headsets and Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses, reach customers directly and increase sales. These glasses were developed as a joint venture between Meta and eyewear manufacturer EssilorLuxottica.
Renowned computer scientist Fei-Fei Li is also participating in the robotics race. Last year, she launched the “Spatial Intelligence” startup World Labs. Similarly, Tesla CEO Elon Musk has said that his company’s humanoid robot, “Optimus,” will assist people with daily tasks. In the future, the robot will be sold to customers.
Last Thursday, robotics company Apptronik raised $350 million in funding, with investments from companies like Google. The funds will be used to develop AI-powered humanoid robots that will be used in warehouses and production factories.
Meta plans to develop its own humanoid robot hardware, initially focusing on household tasks. In the future, the company will also create AI, sensors, and software to assist in operating robots for various companies.
Meta has already begun discussions with robotics companies Unitree Robotics and Figure AI regarding their plans. However, the company is not rushing to launch its own branded robots in the market.
This announcement reflects a significant investment by Meta in its Reality Labs unit. Since its inception, however, this unit has faced substantial financial losses, with the fourth quarter of last year showing a loss of nearly $5 billion.
Tech companies and startups are investing billions of dollars in developing AI-powered devices, which are being designed for use in product manufacturing and household tasks. However, progress in robotics has been slow, as while language-based AI has helped advance chatbot technology, it has not significantly improved the understanding of the physical world.
Meta has been funding “embedded AI” research for years, aiming to create an AI assistant capable of perceiving, navigating the three-dimensional world around it. The company’s chief AI scientist, Yann LeCun, has also highlighted the limitations of language models and emphasized the need for new types of models that can better understand the physical world.
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