Google DeepMind recently gave insight into two artificial intelligence systems it has created: ALOHA Unleashed and DemoStart. The company said that both of these systems aim to help robots perform complex tasks that require dexterous movement. Dexterity is a deceptively difficult skill to acquire. There are many tasks that we do every day without thinking twice, like tying our shoelaces or tightening a screw, that could take weeks of training for a robot to do reliably. The DeepMind team asserted that for robots to be more useful in people’s lives, they need to get better at making contact with physical objects in dynamic environments. The Alphabet unit‘s ALOHA Unleashed is aimed at helping robots learn to perform complex and novel two-armed manipulation tasks. DemoStart uses simulations to improve real-world performance on a multi-fingered robotic hand. By helping robots learn from human demonstrations and translate images to action, these systems are paving the way for robots that can perform a wide variety of helpful tasks, said DeepMind. Until now, most advanced AI robots have only been able to pick up and place objects using a single arm. ALOHA Unleashed achieves a high level of dexterity in bi-arm manipulation, according to Google DeepMind. The researchers said that with this new method, Google’s robot learned to tie a shoelace, hang a shirt, repair another robot, insert a gear, and even clean a kitchen. ALOHA Unleashed builds on DeepMind’s ALOHA 2 platform, which was based on the original ALOHA low-cost, open-source hardware for bimanual teleoperation from Stanford University. ALOHA 2 is more dexterous than prior systems because it has two hands that can be teleoperated for training and data-collection purposes. It also allows robots to learn how to perform new tasks with fewer demonstrations.

Full report : Google DeepMind team says that for robots to be more useful, they need to get better at making contact with objects in dynamic environments.