A robot developed by a team at Stanford University is making waves in China with its impressive cooking skills. The US$32,000 robot, named Mobile Aloha, has caught the attention of Chinese online users after a video showcasing its ability to cook a three-course meal went viral.
Mobile Aloha is a two-handed system that can be controlled remotely by a human user or operate autonomously through imitation learning. It underwent 50 human demonstrations and was co-trained on datasets to acquire its cooking skills. According to the project’s website, the robot can successfully cook shrimp, rinse a pan, lift a glass of wine, and wipe spilled liquid with at least an 80% success rate.
The development of the robot took three months, with Zipeng Fu and Tony Zhao, two computer science PhD candidates from China, leading the project. Fu and Zhao, who are also student researchers at Google DeepMind, an artificial intelligence research laboratory, faced both hardware and software challenges during the development process. They assembled the machine themselves to save costs and aimed to create a robot that could perform complex tasks that were previously deemed impossible.
In terms of hardware capabilities, the robot can walk at a speed of 1.42 meters per second, which is equivalent to human speed. It can also reach a height of 2 meters and extend one meter beyond its base.
When it comes to the software, Fu and Zhao took a data-driven AI approach, using human demonstration data to teach the robot. This approach eliminates the need for excessive programming and manual tuning.
With its price tag of US$32,000, including on-board power and computing, the robot has garnered interest in the market. As the global population continues to age, domestic robots like Mobile Aloha are expected to play a critical role in the smart home ecosystem. Market research firm Mordor Intelligence estimates that the market for domestic robots will grow at an annual rate of nearly 20%, reaching US$22.5 billion by 2029.
Interestingly, global tech giants have been investing significantly in this sector. Recently, American online retailer Amazon unveiled Astro, a household robot designed for home monitoring, priced at nearly US$1,000. Japanese electronics giant Sony also launched the latest generation of its robotic dog, Aibo, at around US$2,900 in 2018.
In conclusion, the US$32,000 Mobile Aloha robot developed by Stanford University has captured the attention of Chinese online users due to its impressive cooking skills. As the demand for domestic robots grows, the market for such innovative technologies is expected to boom in the coming years.
