Beijing Launches Open-Source ‘RoboBrain 2.0’ AI Model to Power China’s Humanoid Robots

The Beijing Academy of Artificial Intelligence (BAAI) unveiled RoboBrain 2.0, an open-source artificial intelligence model designed to enhance the capabilities of humanoid and other types of robots.

Credit: SCMP

The announcement was made Friday during BAAI’s annual conference in Beijing, as China accelerates efforts to integrate advanced AI into its robotics industry.

Wang Zhongyuan, Director of BAAI, described RoboBrain 2.0 as the world’s most powerful open-source AI model for robots. He said the model significantly improves spatial intelligence and task planning, achieving 17% faster performance and 74% greater accuracy than its predecessor, which launched three months ago.

The model enables robots to better perceive distances and autonomously break down complex tasks into manageable steps.

RoboBrain 2.0 is part of BAAI’s Wujie model series, which also includes RoboOS 2.0, a cloud platform for distributing robotics AI models, and Emu3, a multimodal model capable of understanding and generating text, images and videos.

Wang said BAAI is currently collaborating with over 20 leading companies in the robotics sector and is seeking additional partners to drive growth.

The launch positions BAAI as a key player in China’s rapidly growing robotics industry, which is addressing challenges such as limited model capabilities and insufficient training data. BAAI is among China’s pioneers in open-source large language models, the foundation of generative AI chatbots. Many of its former staff have gone on to launch their own AI start-ups.

In March, BAAI was added to the US Entity List, restricting its access to American technology. Wang called the move “a mistake” and said the institute has lobbied for its removal.

Also on Friday, BAAI announced a strategic partnership with the Hong Kong Investment Corporation to collaborate on talent, technology and capital in support of AI innovation and entrepreneurship.

The seventh BAAI Conference drew more than 100 global AI scientists and over 200 industry experts, including representatives from Baidu, Huawei Technologies, Tencent Holdings, Unitree Robotics, Zhipu AI and Shengshu AI.

Elsewhere in China’s robotics sector, the Beijing Humanoid Robot Innovation Centre earlier this year introduced Hui Si Kai Wu, a general-purpose AI platform. The centre is known for developing the Tien Kung humanoid robot, which won a half-marathon in Beijing in April.

The centre aims for its platform to become the “Android of humanoid robots,” similar to the role Google’s mobile operating system plays in smartphones.

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• BAAI launched RoboBrain 2.0, an open-source AI model for humanoid robots

• The model improves spatial intelligence and task planning by 17% and 74%, respectively

• RoboBrain 2.0 is part of the Wujie model series, including RoboOS 2.0 and Emu3

Source: SCMP