CloudMinds (达闼机器人), a service robot developer, has confirmed receipt of the 1 billion yuan (US$137 million) it was promised when it completed its Series C funding round in July, media reported today.
The Shanghai-based developer of cloud-driven humanoid robots secured the financing from KCI Group, Shanghai Guosheng Group and Watere Capital.
Based on a cloud-based open platform, CloudMinds has released a series of smart humanoids such as Cloud Ginger, Cloud Pepper and Claudia.
What is cloud robotics actually?
These models are deployed to a spectrum of scenarios including hotel, school, supermarket, and industrial park.
CloudMinds, which claims to be a pioneer of so-called cloud robotics, designs robots not with built-in controllers. Instead, they are able to react to commands sent via a 5G-powered cloud system. Hence the designation.
In a recent milestone, CloudMinds joined a number of domestic manufacturers in introducing its humanoid biped XR4 at the 2023 World Robot Conference in Beijing.
Standing 165 cm tall and weighing in at 65 kg, XR4 is a full-size general-purpose humanoid empowered by cloud services and catering to all scenarios, the company said.
The birth of RobotGPT
It possesses more than 60 smart compliant actuators and is built with lightweight carbon fiber reinforced thermoplastic composites.
XR4 also adopts a parallel drive structure and high-torque motor, which can generate a peak torque of 600 N·m in a single leg and is highly responsive and dynamic.
What’s more, XR4 can access RobotGPT, a ChatGPT-like large language model (LLM) developed by CloudMinds.
The LLM, unveiled in July, is capable of processing input of text, voice, image, visual perception, locomotion and point cloud. It undergirds the cognitive intelligence of humanoids.
A coming age of AGI
A combination of capabilities like sensing, cognition, decision-making and behavior generation has made the robot a true carrier of “embodied AI.” It is able to implement tasks with human-like wisdom, CloudMinds said.
Through deep reinforced learning on the basis of digital twin technology, XR4 can perform autonomous training, multiple gaits and movements, such as self-balancing, dual-arm operation and walking with a graceful gait.
“The age of general artificial general intelligence (AGI) is coming,” said Huang Xiaoqing, founder and CEO of CloudMinds. “The mix of LLM, AGI and cloud robotics will thoroughly change the life of mankind in the future.”
