This Week in Startups

Next Unicorns: Empowering robots to think for themselves via AI with Covariant’s Peter Chen | E1796

Aug 23, 2023

49:19

Snipd AI

AI expert and co-founder of Covariant, Peter Chen, discusses the future of AI in robotics, key concepts of reinforcement learning, approaches to accessing data for AI in robotics, adaptability, and the potential of human-like robots for industrial applications.

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Quick takeaways

Building a general AI that can learn across multiple tasks and robots is crucial for the future of robotics.

Collecting high-quality data is essential for enhancing the capabilities of AI in robotics.

Deep dives

AI in Robotics: Opening Up New Applications

The podcast episode discusses how AI is revolutionizing the field of robotics, specifically focusing on the use of AI in warehouses and logistics. The guest speaker, Peter Chen, CEO and co-founder of CoVariant, emphasizes the importance of building a general AI that can learn across multiple tasks and robots. This approach allows robots to handle dynamic and diverse circumstances, such as picking up diverse items in a warehouse, that cannot be reduced to repeatable mechanical processes. By building a foundation model for robotics, Peter believes that AI can be applied to various industries and use cases, transforming the future of robotics.

The Role of AI in Robotics: Moving Beyond Repeatable Motion

02:24

Two fundamental concepts of reinforcement learning

02:16

The Importance of Adaptability in AI for Robotics

03:18

Introduction

2min

The Impact of AI on Robots in the Real World

5min

The Benefits of Operating Robots in Factories and the Evolution of Robot Autonomy

4min

The Importance of Data in Building AI for Robotics

12min

Cost-effective robotic arms and sponsorship for compliance services

3min

Capabilities of a Robot Arm with Suction Cup-like Hands

8min

Targeting Decision Makers on LinkedIn & The Potential of Human-Like Robots

4min

Dedicated Robots for Specific Tasks

13min

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Today’s show:

Covariant CEO Peter Chen joins Jason to discuss the future of AI in robotics (1:33), the key concepts of reinforcement learning (13:50), and much more!

Time stamps:

(0:00) Covariant CEO Peter Chen joins Jason

(1:33) AI’s role in robotics and its value in e-commerce warehouses

(7:38) Lemon.io - Get 15% off your first 4 weeks of developer time at https://Lemon.io/twist

(8:59) Reinforcement learning today and the AlphaGo moment

(13:50) The 2 key concepts of reinforcement learning

(17:35) Approaches to accessing data for AI in robotics

(20:35) Robotics hardware

(22:50) Vanta - Get $1000 off your SOC 2 at https://vanta.com/twist

(23:57) Covariant's hardware and software in use

(27:32) The importance of adaptability

(32:40) LinkedIn Marketing - Get a $100 LinkedIn ad credit at https://linkedin.com/nextunicorn