Since its debut late last year, Gemini 2.0 has been the basis for several Google products, including a new chatbot called AI Mode. Now, Google DeepMind is using the same technology for something a little more interesting. On Wednesday, the artificial intelligence lab announced two new Gemini-based models that it said would “lay the foundation for a new generation of useful robots.”
The first, Gemini Robotics, was developed by DeepMind to make it easier to directly control robots. According to the company, AI systems for robots should have three qualities: generality, interactivity, and dexterity.
The first involves a robot’s flexibility, allowing it to adapt to new situations, including those that were not covered by its training. Interactivity is the robot’s ability to respond to people and the environment. Finally, dexterity, which is mostly self-explanatory: many tasks that humans can perform without much thought require fine motor skills that robots have a hard time mastering.
“While our previous work has shown progress in these areas, Gemini Robotics represents a significant leap forward in performance across all three axes, bringing us closer to creating truly universal robots,” DeepMind says.
For example, Gemini Robotics has enabled DeepMind’s ALOHA 2 robot to fold origami and seal Ziploc bags. The two-armed robot also understands all instructions given to it in natural, everyday language. As seen in a video shared by Google, it can even perform tasks despite obstacles, such as when a researcher navigates around a Tupperware container into which he has just asked the robot to put fruit.
Google is working with Apptronik, the company that created the bipedal Apollo robot, to create the next generation of humanoid robots. At the same time, DeepMind is releasing Gemini Robotics-ER (or embodied intelligence). The second model, the company says, will allow roboticists to run their own programs using Gemini’s advanced reasoning. DeepMind provides access to the system to “trusted testers,” including Google subsidiary Boston Dynamics.
