Figure 01 is a robot that sees, talks and performs tasks | TRIO

O Showmetech TRIO is a compilation of the most interesting news of the week. Today, we're going to talk about:

• FIGURE 01: Robot with OpenAI technology capable of seeing, talking and performing tasks.
• STARSHIP HOME: New game turns your house into a spaceship using augmented reality.
• AESCAPE: Company designs a robot that performs massages like a human being.

This is Showmetech TRIO, your weekly news trio.

Robot with OpenAI technology is capable of seeing, talking and performing tasks.

We are getting closer every day to the moment when it will be very difficult to differentiate a robot from a human being, or that is at least what OpenAI promises, with the new update of its humanoid robot, which is now capable of seeing, explaining what it is in front of you and pick up objects. 

Developed by the startup AI figures, which with an initial investment from a New York capital firm, managed to raise 70 billion dollars, which (Figure 01 it has also been receiving support from big techs such as OpenAI itself, Microsoft, Nvidia, among others, which have injected more than 150 million dollars into the project, not to mention 50 million from Jeff Bezos, owner of Amazon. Other companies like Intel and LG Innotek have also guaranteed their support for the initiative.

Figure 01 measures 1 meter and 70 centimeters tall and weighs 60 kilos, with an all-metal body and face in the shape of a futuristic helmet with no details. Its focus is on carrying out work considered too dangerous for humans, as well as lending a hand where there is a shortage of workers. 

Its understanding of everything it sees is made by a visual language model through artificial intelligence, assembling a visual library to serve as a repository so that the robot is able to recognize and react to different situations while it is activated. To do this, it has integrated cameras to observe everything around it.

Thanks to this system, Figure 01 was able to learn how to make coffee just by watching someone! It has the autonomy to work for up to 5 hours on a single charge of its battery and is capable of walking very quickly, up to 1,2 meters per second, in a very natural way, back and forth during your daily activities.

Figure AI plans to continue development of its humanoid robot so that it finally hits the market in the near future. At the beginning of the year, the company signed a contract with car manufacturer BMW for the use of Figure 01 at its factory in Greer, South Carolina, in the United States, so it will be there that the robot will work first.

Brett Adcock, founder of Figure AI, believes that the company will be able to train an AI system to be able to control millions of humanoid robots, so that they can work simultaneously in several different sectors. With it fully operational, Adcock believes that the system will be able to come into operation completely, autonomously.

New game turns your house into a spaceship using augmented reality

That's what the new first major exclusive game to be released for the Meta Quest 3 virtual reality headset, Starship Home, promises. According to its developer, Doug North Cook, from the studio independent Creature, it will transform the entire environment around you into a spaceship created just for you, which will become a kind of “intergalactic flower girl”.

In a post on the Meta Quest blog, the company talked more about how the game will work. In it, you will be able to “personalize your ship by placing virtual windows, control panels and other gadgets”, all interacting according to the environment you are in.

In the plot of Starship Home, you will have the mission to save all types of plant life across the universe from an evil threat, exploring planets in all corners of the galaxy in search of new and curious plants. Other activities in the game include visiting the dreams of the little plants inside your ship, planning the route of your travels through space and discovering the great mystery behind the danger to plants.

The quick trailer for Starship Home shows that through your windows, you'll be able to see extraterrestrial beings, as well as other planets and different atmospheres as you travel through space. You will be able to collect plant samples during these visits and then care for them inside your ship. The coolest thing is that all the positioning of the elements in the interior of your home in addition to the home is all done automatically, using the surface tracking technology in the Meta headset. 

Cook didn't make it clear whether your ship will remain the same through more than one playthrough, but he did say that there will be game save files so that "everyone has their own spaceship." Until more information is released about Starship Home, the question that never leaves our heads is: will this finally be the game that takes the throne of Animal Crossing and Stardew Valley as something to be played religiously every day, without fail? We will know the answer in the second half of this year!

Company designs a robot that performs massages like a human being

Your chronic pain days are numbered. O Aescape, a robot that performs massages in a natural, practically human way, is coming, and it will be among us much sooner than you imagine.

Creation of the company of the same name formed by former employees of Apple, Meta, Amazon and Uber, which had an initial investment of more than 80 million dollars coming from the same fund that contributed to Elon Musk's SpaceX and Tesla, in addition to other funds and even NBA stars such as Kevin Love, Miami Heat forward, who will undoubtedly use the new product a lot.

The robot in the form of a massage table will be launched in June in the United States and is expected to enter circulation in Equinox brand clinics and in the chronic pain treatment field afterwards, which includes spas, gyms and even among preparation teams of athletes, both at universities in the country and also professionals, in a variety of sports.

The idea for the new robot came from the pain that Aescape CEO Eric Litman suffered every day for eight months of his life. They were so strong that he could barely look around while turning his neck and led him to seek massages practically every day. Eventually, after many visits to healthcare professionals, he discovered the problem was a hernia. Luckily for him, all the suffering helped him come up with the project that would become his main product.

As crazy as his idea seemed at the time, in talking to other people who also had chronic pain like his, he discovered that he wasn't the only one who was looking for an automated type of massage where he would have complete control over where and where he was. how the treatment should be carried out, which encouraged him to take the idea forward. It took more than six years for Aescape to finally get off the ground and become a reality. Now, its users can receive 30 minutes of fully personalized massages, which include how much force should be implemented by the so-called aeropoints to the affected areas, with ambient music adjustment and supports for the legs, neck and arms.

The shape of the table resembles the body of a person trying to reach their shoulder in pain with their arm. It features seven precision contact surfaces with which the Aescape applies pressure and force in a manner very close to the way a human masseuse would apply pressure and force with their hands and elbows. The development of the robot counted on the help of professionals in the field, to “teach” the system how it should move around the patient's body and the way in which certain massage techniques are performed, in addition to how to control the temperature of the affected muscles.

Before the automatic massage, Aescape first performs a three-dimensional scan of the person's body, capturing, according to the company, more than a million precision points in a few seconds to determine their position on the massage table. The company's aim is to make treatment accessible to an increasing range of users who suffer from the most diverse types of ailments. The new massage robot does not require any type of oil or lotion to carry out its work. The patient only needs to wear a kind of special jumpsuit called a aerowear, which facilitates the movement of the Aescape's arms, provided by the clinic or spa they are attending for treatment. 

Litman also said that Aescape will receive updates in the future that will allow massages to be focused on specific parts of the body, so that users can detail where exactly they are suffering from pain or discomfort depending on the day. An example used was a marathon runner who may want some specific treatment sessions, or even offer massages specific to celebrity profiles, like the ones rock stars receive after a show.

The first wave of Aescape is being made available to program partners for US$7 and it is estimated that each 30-minute treatment session will cost around US$60, depending on the location where they will be held. As it is a system that uses artificial intelligence, patient profiles will be remembered by the robot between sessions.

Would you like a massage like this? Tell us in the comments!  

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reviewed by Glaucon Vital in 18 / 3 / 24.