Hugging Face Acquires Pollen Robotics to Unleash Open Source AI Robots | EUROtoday
Lapeyre says that promoting humanoid robots stays difficult as a result of the use instances are unclear and the techniques are nonetheless unreliable—although some firms are beginning to discover success. Today, the expertise is generally developed by just a few effectively financed firms together with Tesla, Figure, and Agility Robotics. “With Hugging Face, we hope to democratize that,” he says.
Many AI fashions, software program frameworks, and instruments that researchers and engineers depend on to construct AI fashions and functions are already open supply. This means the fashions are shared freed from cost, with licenses that enable the code to be modified and reused. Making {hardware} open supply sometimes means releasing designs, element particulars, and 3D fashions that enable items to be manufactured extra simply.
The availability of highly effective open weight AI fashions (which means downloadable however not essentially totally open supply) has made it simpler for researchers and startups to experiment with leading edge AI, as they will see how fashions work and modify the code. Delangue says that Hugging Face believes one thing related is required in robotics. “Hopefully open source can unleash a wide and diverse range of [new robot] capabilities,” he says.
Lapeyre provides that open sourcing {hardware} has the same impact. Robot builders “can [3D] print a part if something is broken,” he says, including, “if something is not perfect, they can make it a bit better by adding a new part.”
The present AI increase has coincided with renewed curiosity in robotics, as the newest fashions assist allow new advances within the capabilities of {hardware} techniques. Some outstanding researchers argue that AI will want a bodily presence with a purpose to match or surpass human intelligence, as a result of that development could require a direct understanding of the bodily world.
The hype surrounding humanoid robots has led to some doubtful claims. Some of the businesses racing to construct humanoid robots have posted demo movies on social media that appear to vow unimaginable talents. But specialists warn that such movies could possibly be deceptive. A system that appears extraordinary on-line may in reality be teleoperated by an individual off digicam; it may additionally fail if circumstances change even barely; or be unable to finish a activity reliably.
Delangue says the open supply strategy ought to make progress extra clear. “You can’t cheat, you can’t hide with open source,” he explains.
Hugging Face already hosts some open supply robotics code. Delangue says that use of this code has spiked over the previous 12 months, reflecting rising curiosity in robotics typically.
Some robotics researchers, particularly these in academia, favor the open strategy. “Making robotics more accessible increases the velocity with which technology advances,” says Sergey Levine, an assistant professor on the University of California, Berkeley, and cofounder of Physical Intelligence, a startup working to develop vastly extra succesful and normal goal robotic fashions.
Physical Intelligence made the primary of its robotic basis fashions, Pi0, out there on Hugging Face in February. The mannequin permits a variety of various robots to be taught to do quite a lot of bodily duties.
Levine says that researchers in academia and trade have already contributed useful concepts and tweaks to his product. He provides there may be potential for outsiders to contribute to the event of recent {hardware} as effectively.
“There’s a lot more creativity people can apply to how they build the actual physical hardware,” he says.
The open strategy seems to be gaining momentum throughout the AI trade. Meta was the primary main AI firm to supply a leading edge open weight mannequin when it launched Llama in 2023. Several different leading edge open weight fashions have adopted. In January, a comparatively unknown Chinese startup referred to as DeepSeek shocked the tech trade and the inventory market by releasing a strong AI mannequin that was reportedly developed at much less price than these made by US corporations.
Even OpenAI, the corporate on the middle of the present increase, which has saved its strongest fashions a closely-guarded secret, mentioned this March that it might change its strategy and launch a free, open weight mannequin this summer season.
https://www.wired.com/story/hugging-face-acquires-open-source-robot-startup/