Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 33.63
March 11, 2024
Covariant, a California-based AI Robotics company, released RFM-1 at MODEX 2024, a Robotics Foundation Model that provides robots the human-like ability to reason. The RFM-1 represents the first time generative AI has successfully given commercial robots a deeper understanding of language and the physical world, according to the company. Covariant offered show attendees an experience of RFM-1. The company also encouraged interested parties to book a live demonstration at the company’s headquarters in Emeryville, Calif. Challenges with robotic automation, AI The key challenge with traditional robotic automation and automation based on manual programming or specialized learned models is the lack…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 13.21
January 08, 2024
…the company and its partners - including Boston Dynamics, Covariant, Sanctuary AI, Unitree Robotics, Collaborative Robotics and others - to bring generative AI and robotics together. At the center of the relationship is GPU-accelerated large language models (LLMs), which bring higher levels of adaptability and intelligence to various machines. The “human” brain of robotics “Autonomous robots powered by artificial intelligence are being increasingly utilized for improving efficiency, decreasing costs and tackling labor shortages,” Talla said. LLMs work as the language center in the robot “brain” and will allow them to better understand and more naturally respond to human prompts. As…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 13.16
July 25, 2023
…arms for sortation Adam Fry, head of product at Covariant, said he has also seen a “significant push” to automate manual order sortation with robotic put walls. This is happening across a range of industries, including apparel, general merchandise, health and beauty, and pharmaceutical distributors. “Given the current economic climate, the push to further automate manual put walls is happening more prominently within projects that improve the efficiency and throughput of brownfield sites,” explained Fry. “Rather than building net-new facilities from the ground up, companies are looking to retrofit their current manual order sortation or put wall footprint with new…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 40.62
May 10, 2023
…it is entering into a long-term strategic partnership with Covariant to build a foundation for future growth. The Otto Group said it will use Covariant's artificial intelligence-powered robots to automate a wide range of manual fulfillment activities that require hand-eye coordination and object manipulation. “Logistics faces the challenge of being as cost-efficient as possible,” said Kay Schiebur, member of the executive board for services at the Otto Group, in a press release. “The use of a generalist AI allows us to rethink processes that were not possible before and provides an answer to the massive shortage of workers.” “In times…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 8.99
April 07, 2023
…the goods-to-person picking space and perhaps RightHand Robotics and Covariant in the piece-picking space, which has been slow to get traction. Exotec appeared to be moving ahead with deals with companies like Gap Inc. We’re also beginning to see robots targeting tasks beyond robot-to-goods picking, such as trailer unloading and parcel induction. Those are great. But there are also signs that 2023 may be the long-awaited shakeout in the robotics industry, like the long-awaited recession in the economy. The most visible and public example is SoftBank’s announcement that it will take Berkshire Grey private, paying $1.40 a share for the…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 45.92
April 05, 2023
Covariant announced yesterday that it has raised $75 million in a recent Series C round. The Berkeley, Calif.-based robotic-picking company told Robotics 24/7 that the funding will be used to help it continue to deploy its systems to materials handling customers. “This is a very tough capital market to raise money, so our ability to raise a substantial amount of venture funding speaks to the traction, both in terms of technology and the commercial market, that we have created,” CEO Peter Chen said in an interview. Covariant deploys robotic picking systems that take advantage of the Covariant Brain, its proprietary…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 47.45
January 10, 2023
Radial Inc. has installed 12 Covariant Robotic Putwalls at its fulfillment center in Louisville, Ky. to sort health and beauty items. Each of the twelve robotic u-shaped putwalls average about one hundred thousand picks per month with a throughput of 425 pieces per hour (PPH) – a performance higher than their manual alternative, Covariant claimed. While working side-by-side with Radial’s staff, the autonomous robots can successfully pick 100% of the stock-keeping units (SKUs) at the Louisville fulfillment center, according to the Berkeley, Calif.-based company. The robots run on the company’s universal AI platform Covariant Brain, which has been pre-trained on…
Found in Robotics Companies & Businesses, with a score of 67.95
October 26, 2022
…and repetitive tasks. They have not only transformed manufacturing, but they've also reached a fraction of their potential, noted Covariant. Incapable of thinking on their own, most robots can only do pre-programmed tasks in tightly-controlled environments. They can't understand, learn, or adapt, said the company, legally known as Emboided Intelligence Inc. Building on experience at Berkeley and OpenAI, the company's vision is the Covariant Brain: universal AI that allows robots to see, reason, and act on the world around them. It is bringing the Covariant Brain to commercial viability, starting with the industries that make, move, and store things in…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 24.76
September 29, 2022
Recording: November 2, 2022 at 2:00 EST
…chain and logistics. Anu Saha Head of product marketing Covariant Leading the product marketing efforts at Covariant, Anu Saha helps retailers and their logistics partners better understand how AI robotics can increase efficiency and reduce labor challenges in their intralogistics operations. He helps them discover how robots powered by the Covariant Brain can automate previously manual piece-picking operations in warehouses and fulfillment centers. Previously, Saha was involved in controls, automation, and robotics at National Instruments, where he helped with the adoption of graphical programming for academic research and STEM initiatives such as FIRST. He also helped establish product management and…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 21.79
February 25, 2022
…up to 2.2 m/s (4.9 mph). ABB to demo Covariant Brain In addition, ABB said it plans to demonstrate the integration of its IRB 1300 robot arm with Covariant's artificial intelligence. “The growing demand for e-commerce fulfillment services and the complex, labor-intensive nature of the process offers unique potential for intelligent automation,” the company said. “While robots are ideally suited to repetitive tasks, until now, they lacked the intelligence to identify and handle tens of thousands of constantly changing products in a typical dynamic warehouse operation.” The Covariant Brain is designed to enable robots to perceive their environments and adapt…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 7.29
November 14, 2021
…A3's AMR and Logistics Conference last month in Memphis. Covariant aids AI-based robots AI-based piece picking is still an advanced application for robots, making it difficult end-user organizations to compare them with established categories of materials handling automation, said Ted Stinson, chief operating officer at manipulation AI provider Covariant. After all, how does one determine if an AI-driven arm and gripper can actually handle the rapidly changing SKU mixes seen in modern e-commerce? Flashy presentations from a dozen or more vendors can’t really answer that question, Stinson said. “It’s a crowded and confusing marketplace, where trying to understand the capabilities…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 49.41
July 28, 2021
…autonomous handling. Embodied Intelligence Inc., which does business as Covariant, yesterday said it has raised $80 million in Series C funding. The Berkeley, Calif.-based company said it will use the money to continue its robotics and AI research and development, as well as grow its team globally. “Autonomous order picking has long been seen as the holy grail for warehouse automation in the robotics world,” stated Pieter Abbeel, president, chief scientist, and co-founder of Covariant. “It's a very hard problem, but thanks to our team's fundamental advances in research and engineering, we've achieved production-grade autonomy for a range of industries…
