

RoboPapers
Michael Cho
Chris Paxton & Michael Cho geek out over robotic papers with paper authors.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Jun 12, 2025 • 1h 9min
Ep#13 Instant Policy: In-Context Imitation Learning via Graph Diffusion
Edward Johns, the Director of the Robot Learning Lab at Imperial College London, and PhD student Vitalis Vosylius explore groundbreaking advances in imitation learning for robotics. They discuss how one-shot learning is transforming robot training, making it possible for machines to learn new tasks from minimal demonstrations. The conversation highlights the innovative use of graph structures for state representation and task generalization. They also delve into enhancing human-robot interaction and the critical role tactile feedback plays in achieving precision.

Jun 10, 2025 • 1h 9min
Ep#12 VaViM and VaVAM: Autonomous Driving through Video Generative Modeling
Florent Bartoccioni, a researcher at VALEO AI focusing on world models and unannotated data for autonomous driving, joins the discussion on cutting-edge technologies. He details the limitations of traditional human-annotated systems and advocates for self-supervised learning. The conversation dives into the significance of diverse datasets and the power of video generative modeling, including advances in spatio-temporal embeddings and denoising approaches. Bartoccioni also sheds light on crash scenario simulations and how they can refine training for safer autonomous vehicles.

Jun 10, 2025 • 1h 2min
Ep#11 Sim-and-Real Co-Training: A Simple Recipe for Vision-Based Robotic Manipulation
Dive into the groundbreaking world of Sim-and-Real Co-Training for robotic manipulation! Discover how merging simulated and real-world data enhances robotic learning. Uncover the challenges of balancing data sources and the importance of visual realism in training. Explore the philosophical implications of simulation learning versus natural evolution. Plus, get insights into the latest co-training methodologies that promise to redefine robotics efficiency. A fascinating blend of technology and theory awaits!

Jun 10, 2025 • 1h 1min
Ep#10 Humanoid Policy ~ Human Policy
In this discussion, Roger Qiu, a first-year PhD student at UCSD focused on humanoid policy in robotics, delves into some mind-bending topics. He shares insights on the challenges of teleoperating humanoid robots and how utilizing human data can significantly enhance their skills. The conversation also highlights the potential of mixed reality in robot learning, the importance of task-specific data, and the quest for optimizing data collection in robotic tasks. With a touch of humor, Roger explores the complexities of robotics in the ever-evolving Roboverse.

May 25, 2025 • 52min
Ep#9: AutoEval - Autonomous Evaluation of Generalist Robot Manipulation Policies in the Real World
In this engaging discussion, Paul Zhou, a PhD student at Berkeley specializing in robot learning and reinforcement learning, delves into his innovative AutoEval project. He highlights the challenges of evaluating robot manipulation policies in real-world settings and showcases a live demo with Widow X robots. Zhou compares AutoEval's efficiency to traditional human assessments, emphasizing its potential to streamline evaluations. The conversation also touches on engineering hurdles, affordability in robotics, and the significance of collaboration in advancing robotic evaluation systems.

May 2, 2025 • 59min
Ep#8: VGGT - Visual Geometry Grounded Transformer
Jianyuan Wang, a PhD student at Meta AI and the Visual Geometry Group of Oxford, dives into the cutting-edge world of 3D reconstruction. He discusses the shift from classical to deep learning techniques, the innovative VGGT framework, and the importance of diverse datasets for training models. Explore how 64 GPUs optimize robotics processing and learn about advancements in camera pose estimation and multi-view depth. Wang also highlights challenges in modeling non-rigid motion, paving the way for future developments in computer vision for robotics.

Apr 27, 2025 • 59min
Ep#7: AnyDexGrasp: Learning General Dexterous Grasping for Different Hands with Human-level Learning Efficiency
Dive into the fascinating world of robotic grasping and discover how researchers tackle the complexities of training robotic hands. Learn about the challenges posed by occlusion and how decoupling object detection enhances adaptability. The podcast also highlights innovations in grasp mechanics and effective techniques for optimizing performance. Explore the connection between human learning and robotic dexterity, and uncover the importance of depth perception in robotics. It's a journey through cutting-edge advancements in robotic manipulation!

Apr 24, 2025 • 53min
Ep#6: FP3: A 3D Foundation Policy for Robotic Manipulation
3d-foundation-policy.github.io

Apr 24, 2025 • 1h
Ep#5: R+X: Retrieval & Execution from Human Videos
Norman Di Palo, a robotics research scientist at Google DeepMind, and Georgios Papagiannis, a PhD candidate at Imperial College, dive into groundbreaking advancements in robotics. They discuss how everyday human videos can train robots, emphasizing in-context learning and the challenges of using wearable cameras. The pair explore video retrieval systems, highlighting keyframe extraction and the fusion of vision with language models to improve task execution. Their insights illuminate the ongoing innovations in imitation learning and the potential for real-time knowledge adaptation in robotics.

Apr 8, 2025 • 1h 12min
Ep#4: Vision Language Models are In-Context Value Learners
In this engaging discussion, Jason Ma, a final year PhD student at the University of Pennsylvania, unveils his insights on Vision Language Models and their role in enhancing robotic performance. The conversation covers groundbreaking methodologies for tracking robotic task progress and evaluates the significance of high-quality datasets in imitation learning. They also explore challenges like negative correlations in trajectories and examine how self-supervised learning can optimize robotic systems. Tune in for fascinating perspectives on the future of robotics and automation!