$424 Million AI Research Center in The Works

The Boston Dynamics AI Institute announced on August 12, 2022, that it would soon be launching a $424 million robotics research center in Cambridge, Massachusetts that will "invest resources across the technical areas of cognitive AI, athletic AI and organic hardware design, with each discipline contributing to progress in advanced machine capabilities."

Boston Dynamics, acquired by Hyundai Motors in 2020, will have founder and executive director Marc Raibert take the reins of this massive project. The purpose of the new research center is to make headway in developments and solutions for the problems faced in the creation of advanced robots.

"Our mission is to create future generations of advanced robots and intelligent machines that are smarter, more agile, perceptive and safer than anything that exists today," says Raibert. "The unique structure of the Institute — top talent focused on fundamental solutions with sustained funding and excellent technical support — will help us create robots that are easier to use, more productive, able to perform a wider variety of tasks and that are safer working with people."

The center will partner with various corporate labs and universities with a focus on our technical areas of research and development:

Cognitive AI.
Athletic AI.
Organic hardware design.
Ethics and policy.

This Institute has also sent out feelers for anyone within the industry who is interested in getting involved in the upcoming project. The goal is to recruit the best in AI talent and expertise to ensure the maximum benefit of the massively funded center to the world of robotics. Imagine just how much more useful the software and capabilities of robots could be to humankind with the success of such an investment.

The total $424 million project includes initial investments from Hyundai Motor of $211.9 million, Kia with an investment of $127.1 million and Hyundai Mobis providing $84.7 million for the overall funding, says the project's regulatory filing.

How will new research capabilities affect Hyundai Motors?

Hyundai and Kia have already partnered up in the expansion of space exploration and robotics in recent months. The idea is to advance human mobility and make efforts to take transportation "beyond the realms of earth." starting with making it easier to bring humans to the moon. Yes, we're all thinking about the Jetsons right now. In addition to these investments, Hyundai has also announced its plans to improve its software capabilities with a Global Software Centre – located in South Korea – to be launched in the future with the goal of advancing Software Defined Vehicles (SDVs) with the focus on 42dot, an autonomous driving software and mobility platform startup recently acquired by Hyundai.

Perle Systems is doing its part in the development of AI and robotics to improve the benefits of the industry to businesses and individuals on a global scale. We're supporting industrial automation to improve the efficiency of manufacturing so more projects can become realities. Take a look at what we've been doing and reach out for a conversation with a member of our team today!