CREDIT TK AGILITY ROBOTICS 5. OREGON STATE HAS HELPED BLAZE THE TRAIL IN AI PHYSICAL INTELLIGENCE. IN 2021, OREGON STATE earned a spot in the Guinness Book of World Records for the fastest 100-meter dash run by a bipedal robot. Cassie, who looks a bit like an orange ostrich without a head, ran the race in under 25 seconds — a far cry from Usain Bolt’s record of 9.58, but a breathtaking achievement in the world of robotics, where, previously, two-legged robots were mostly known for their stumbles and falls. Cassie was developed under the direction of Oregon State robotics professor Jonathan Hurst — cofounder and chief robot o cer of OSU spino companyAgility Robotics — and trained in collaboration with artificial intelligence professor Alan Fern and OSU students using machine learning. To teach Cassie and later Digit (Agility Robotics’ humanoid robot and our cover model) how to move in unpredictable environments required blazing a trail in a di erent realm of artificial intelligence — physical intelligence. “A language model has an entire internet of right answers to look for patterns in — from sixth graders texting to Shakespeare,” said Hurst, referring to the large language models that power conversational AI chatbots like ChatGPT and Microsoft Copilot.“But when you’re trying to control a robot, there are zero examples.” Before Cassie, robot movements were typically created by engineers writing equations, which takes specialized expertise and a lot of time and iteration. It’s also very limited, often resulting in cautious behaviors. Instead, Cassie learned more like a toddler — by falling and trying again — but all in simulation, so the learning took hours rather than years. This approach made it possible to generate new behaviors faster, and they were better than any engineer could imagine with equations. “That behavior we did with Cassie is still the best in the world. We were the very first,” Hurst said.“And that wasn’t an Agility Robotics thing. That was an OSU thing.” Since Cassie’s early success, Fern and his students have used AI to help Digit learn to use its legs and arms to not only walk but also lift and carry. In 2024, Digit became the first humanoid robot used in commercial operations. Digit is being tested in Amazon fulfillment warehouses alongside humans and has been deployed since June 2024 in a GXO Logistics facility in Atlanta, lifting the heaviest loads for women’s clothing retailer SPANX. SUPERCHARGING SEED SELECTION The Willamette Valley is known as the “grass seed capital of the world,” but traditional methods of screening seeds for contaminants are timeconsuming and prone to human error, posing risks to an industry worth $500 million annually. A multidisciplinary OSU team is training AI to recognize hundreds of seed types. The Deep Seed Project’s goal is to create a convenient, reliable tool that farmers can use to assess seed quality faster and more accurately. Supported by grants from the Oregon Department of Agriculture, the Oregon Grass Seed Commissions and the OSU College of Agricultural Sciences, the project is developing a tabletop design for high-throughput analysis in lab settings and a portable light box version farmers can use in the field. TENDING TOMORROW’S FIELDS Water scarcity, severe weather events and labor shortages can all spell disaster for farmers. Oregon State is part of a coalition of universities and industry partners using AI to unlock solutions for these global agricultural challenges. The AgAID Institute’s (agaid.org) wide-ranging projects include using neural networks to improve predictions of cold hardiness and help grape growers avoid frost damage; training robots to prune fruit trees in simulated, digital orchards with reinforcement learning; and a robotic fertilizer that uses smart sensors and artificial intelligence technology to apply precise amounts of liquid nitrogen to individual trees in an orchard. Researchers work closely with farmers. “We start by asking our partners, ‘What would be useful to you?’” said Alan Fern, professor of artificial intelligence. “We don’t start by coding up the AI.” OREGON STATER PG/ 40
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