Toyota and Boston Dynamics Join Forces to Develop AI Humanoid Robots, Challenging Tesla's "Optimus"

Toyota and Boston Dynamics Join Forces to Develop AI Humanoid Robots, Challenging Tesla's "Optimus"On October 17, Toyota Motor Corporation's research arm and Hyundai Motor Group's Boston Dynamics announced a partnership to accelerate the development of AI humanoid robots. The two companies plan to integrate Toyota Research Institute's expertise in large behavioral models with Boston Dynamics' Atlas humanoid robot

Toyota and Boston Dynamics Join Forces to Develop AI Humanoid Robots, Challenging Tesla's "Optimus"

On October 17, Toyota Motor Corporation's research arm and Hyundai Motor Group's Boston Dynamics announced a partnership to accelerate the development of AI humanoid robots. The two companies plan to integrate Toyota Research Institute's expertise in large behavioral models with Boston Dynamics' Atlas humanoid robot.

The teams at Boston-based Toyota Research Institute and Boston Dynamics will collaborate on AI-powered robotics applications in areas such as human-robot interaction. Toyota has said it has made breakthroughs in AI-powered robotics training.

This collaboration is noteworthy because it poses a potential challenge to other intelligent robotics projects, such as Tesla's Optimus. In recent years, numerous humanoid robotics startups have also attracted considerable attention and capital.

While the collaboration between Toyota and Boston Dynamics focuses on fundamental research with the aim of commercialization, the two companies executives did not disclose specific timelines or project budgets. Gill Pratt, Toyotas chief scientist, said in an interview: "This technology has huge potential for the future." "The work we're doing in generative AI can effectively complement what Boston Dynamics has achieved."

Pratt said their goal is to introduce robots into factory production lines and the elderly care industry. Automakers have been striving to achieve fully automated production lines, thereby reducing labor costs and improving safety. Data released by the Frankfurt-based International Federation of Robotics (IFR) reveals that the automotive industry deploys more robots in its global factories than any other industry. In 2023, a quarter of all new robot installations worldwide were in the automotive industry.

Aaron Saunders, Boston Dynamics chief technology officer, said the dexterity of Boston Dynamics robots combined with Toyota's behavioral expertise is a key differentiator from other companies' intelligent robotics projects. He said: "Many businesses are now talking about deploying humanoid robots at scale, and this partnership can provide a solid foundation for that."

Saunders said that Boston Dynamics plans to deploy humanoid robots that can perform specific tasks in Hyundai factories "in the next few years," while also focusing on long-term research with Toyota to realize multi-task AI-powered robots.

Previously, Hyundai Motor Group acquired an 80% stake in Boston Dynamics from Japan's SoftBank Group, which retained the remaining stake. Hyundai Motor Group has already trialled Boston Dynamics' technology at a Kia factory in South Korea.

Generative AI has the potential to enable robots to learn new skills faster based on what they've learned. Just as virtual assistants like ChatGPT emerged from large language models, large behavioral models are being used in robotics programming.

Russ Tedrake, vice president of robotics research at Toyota Research Institute and a professor at MIT, said Toyota Research Institute's progress in so-called "diffusion policy" shows that a single AI technique can be used to teach robots to perform multiple tasks. The next focus for Toyota Research Institute is to develop large behavioral models that enable robots to learn many tasks simultaneously.

Tedrake said, Our goal is to make a robot that can crack an egg also be able to handle a variety of other tasks, like folding laundry. We're working toward that, Tedrake said. We're making rapid progress on this and actively demonstrating these new capabilities."

The collaboration between Toyota and Boston Dynamics, two giants in the field, marks a further escalation of competition in the development of AI humanoid robots. In the future, as AI technology continues to advance, humanoid robots are likely to play a role in more areas, bringing greater convenience and change to human life.