We recap the the 2024 FIRA event and sit down with Russ Tedrake from Toyota Research Institute and Scott Kuindersma from Boston Dynamics.

Toyota Research Institute, or TRI, announced what it said was a “breakthrough” approach based on Diffusion Policy to quickly teach robots new skills.

Researchers are already using generative AI to make robots faster learners, and a summit panel will discuss how this technology can be applied to robotics at scale. 

TRI’s Punyo humanoid robot can manipulate objects with its whole body, giving it more flexibility when it comes to household tasks.

Toyota Research Institute demonstrated how it is developing AI and autonomous vehicles to interact with human drivers for safety.

The Soft Bubble Gripper uses visuo-tactile sensing techniques that allow a robot to recognize objects by shape, track their orientation in its grasp and sense forces as it interacts with the world.

Phoenix Instinct, one oof the five finalists in the Mobility Unlimited Challenge run by the Toyota Mobility Foundation and Nesta Challenges,

Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, said that combining neural networks with motion-planning software will give robots the speed and skill to assist in warehouse environments.

Toyota Research Institute demonstrated its research into machine learning, simulation, and manipulation in a virtual open house, which included a ceiling-mounted kitchen gantry robot.

The Soft Bubble Gripper developed by a Toyota Research Institute team combines sensors and advanced materials to more safely handle objects in a step toward household robots.

Toyota Research Institute – Advanced Development has announced Woven Capital, a new $800 million fund that it said will consolidate support for R&D into smart cities, connected vehicles, and autonomous vehicles.

Toyota AI Ventures has renewed its call for innovative startups to submit technologies that solve urban challenges for up to $2 million in funding.

CARMERA has been using cameras to build maps that could be valuable, not only for developers of autonomous vehicles, but also to urban transportation authorities.

A photorealistic simulation system enables autonomous vehicles to learn to drive in the real world and recover from near-crash scenarios.

MIT and Toyota researchers have developed a model to alert driverless cars when it’s safest to merge into traffic at intersections with obstructed views.

Toyota Research Institute shared its latest research on how to train a mobile manipulator for complex household tasks.