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Earlier this year, Hugging Face, a well-known open-source AI community and company based in Brooklyn, New York, attracted attention by hiring a former robotics engineer from Tesla’s Optimus program. This engineer was tasked with leading their new open-source robotics program called “Le Robot.”
Today, that engineer, Remi Cadene from Paris, France, shared a video on X showcasing what seems to be the first functioning humanoid robot from Hugging Face’s Le Robot program. Known as “Reachy2,” this robot was developed by Pollen Robotics, another open-source robotics company in Bordeaux, France. Hugging Face partnered with Pollen Robotics to train the robot to handle a variety of household tasks and interact safely with humans and pets.
In a direct message to VentureBeat via X, Cadene elaborated on the unique training process behind Reachy2. Initially, the robot was controlled by a human using a virtual reality headset, performing tasks like placing cups on a dish rack and smoothly handing objects to people. A machine learning algorithm then studied 50 short videos of these VR sessions, each lasting around 15 seconds. Through this, the algorithm learned to perform the tasks independently, guiding Reachy2 through them.
After 40,000 to 60,000 training steps, Reachy2 managed to learn how to rotate, hand over an apple, and return to its original position. “We open sourced this dataset on Hugging Face with Pollen Robotics as well as the model we used for the demo,” Cadene explained on X. This dataset is publicly available, allowing others to experiment with smaller robots at home.
This move towards open-source robotics AI comes at a time when there’s increasing investment and development in practical robotics outside traditional lab and industrial environments. Companies like Figure and Cobot have collectively raised hundreds of millions of dollars to explore new machine learning concepts, including OpenAI’s models, and apply them to robots that can interact with people.
Hugging Face’s Le Robot could pressure these competing robotics firms by offering advanced technology for free through open-source robotics code on its community platform and GitHub.
The collaboration with Pollen Robotics happened naturally due to their geographical proximity and shared research interests. “We closely follow Pollen Robotics’ work and are impressed by their robots,” Cadene said. The partnership was a natural fit; they needed humanoid robots and Pollen Robotics required end-to-end training software. Pollen Robotics is just two hours away from Hugging Face’s Le Robot lab in Paris, facilitating easy visits for collaboration.
Pollen Robotics has been a pioneer in developing accessible and open-source technologies since 2013 when they introduced Poppy, the first 3D printed open-source humanoid robot designed for research. They have focused on creating products that support open science and open data, working with various innovators to make robotics accessible to everyone. Their main product, Reachy 1, is an open-source, fully teleoperable robot available in different configurations, with prices starting at $9,750 (€8,990) for the basic model and going up to $43,500 (€39,990) for the full kit with a mobile base.
Pollen Robotics is dedicated to ethical practices, ensuring their technologies are accessible under open-source licenses, producing durable and repairable products, and refusing military funding. They also offer discounts and free services for projects that protect the environment.
The new Reachy 2 is “coming soon,” according to Pollen Robotics’ website, and promises to be a significant upgrade with all-new 7-DoF bio-inspired arms capable of handling up to six pounds each. VentureBeat has reached out to Pollen Robotics for more details on Reachy 2 and its partnership with Hugging Face’s Le Robot and will provide updates as they come.