Hi Hugging Face Acquires Pollen Robotics to Expand Open Source Humanoid Robot Development

Hugging Face has acquired Pollen Robotics, a French company known for its open source humanoid robots, in a move aimed at making robotics more accessible and customisable.

Credit: POLLEN ROBOTICS

The announcement was made by Hugging Face on X, where the company highlighted its goal of bringing open source robots to the global community.

Pollen Robotics is the maker of Reachy 2, a humanoid robot priced at USD 70,000. While it does not walk, it features a wheeled base or can be fixed in place, and includes robotic arms with seven degrees of freedom and a lifting capacity of 3 kilograms per arm.

Reachy 2 is fully open source, programmable in Python, and can be teleoperated using virtual reality equipment. It is available in multiple models with varying capabilities.

Though Reachy 2 is not yet on par with commercial robots like Tesla’s Optimus or Agility Robotics’ Digit, the acquisition is seen as a strategic step toward democratising access to humanoid robotics.

Hugging Face has already made strides in open robotics through its LeRobotHF platform and Hugging Face Hub. The addition of Pollen Robotics is expected to accelerate development in this area.

The company envisions a future where individuals can build and control their own robot companions using open source tools, potentially even 3D printing them at home.

Hugging Face co-founder and chief scientist Thomas Wolf has expressed interest in making future versions of Reachy fully open source, including downloadable schematics.

The acquisition includes Pollen Robotics’ entire team of about 20 employees, including co-founders Matthieu Lapeyre and Pierre Rouanet.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

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• Hugging Face acquires Pollen Robotics to expand open source humanoid robot development

• Pollen’s Reachy 2 robot is programmable, open source, and VR-compatible

• Future versions may be 3D printable and fully open source

Source: FORBES

OpenAI Unveils GPT-4.1 With Enhanced Coding and Context Capabilities

OpenAI has launched its latest AI models, GPT-4.1, featuring significant improvements in coding performance and long-context comprehension.

The new models can process up to 1 million tokens, allowing them to handle larger and more complex data inputs. They also come with updated knowledge through June 2024.

According to OpenAI, GPT-4.1 outperforms previous versions, showing a 21% improvement over GPT-4o and a 27% improvement over GPT-4.5 in coding tasks.

The enhancements also extend to instruction following and long-context understanding, making GPT-4.1 more effective for powering AI agents.

CEO Sam Altman said on social media platform X that while benchmark results are strong, the focus was on real-world utility, which has been well received by developers.

OpenAI noted that the GPT-4.1 models operate at a much lower cost than GPT-4.5.

As a result, the company will disable the GPT-4.5 preview available in the API in July, citing that GPT-4.1 offers improved or comparable performance.

The GPT-4.5 research preview was initially released in February for select users and developers, with plans for broader access in the following weeks.

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• OpenAI launches GPT-4.1 with improved coding and context capabilities

• GPT-4.1 supports up to 1 million tokens and includes knowledge through June 2024

• Coding performance improved by 21% over GPT-4o and 27% over GPT-4.5

Source: REUTERS

Unitree to Host Live Boxing Match Between Humanoid Robots

Chinese robotics firm Unitree Robotics is preparing to live-stream a boxing match between two of its humanoid robots in an event titled "Unitree Iron Fist King: Awakening!"

Credit: UNITREE

The match is expected to take place in about a month, according to an announcement posted by the company on X. Unitree has not yet confirmed the exact date or which robot models will be used.

The contenders may include the 1.32-metre-tall Unitree G1 or the larger, more powerful 1.8-metre-tall Unitree H1. A recent video released by the company shows the G1 model sparring with both a human and another G1 robot.

In the footage, the G1 robot demonstrates basic combat capabilities, including the ability to get back up after being knocked down. However, it still struggles with reaction time, dodging, and maintaining balance after impact.

Unitree has enhanced the robots’ full-body movement control, enabling them to walk, dance, and perform athletic and kung fu-inspired moves. The company uses a motion dataset based on LAFAN1 motion capture technology, which supports lifelike movements by considering actuator constraints, joint positions, and speed limits.

Further improvements are expected before the live event, as the robots’ boxing skills are still under development.

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• Unitree to live-stream humanoid robot boxing match in about a month

• Event titled "Unitree Iron Fist King: Awakening!"

• G1 and H1 robots are potential contenders

Source: HEISE ONLINE