Covariant’s AI-powered Robotic Putwall system autonomously sorts items at the company’s headquarters in Emeryville, California. By combining camera and sensory data with the enormous amounts of text used to train chatbots like ChatGPT, Covariant has built AI technology that gives its robots a much broader understanding of the world around it. — The New York Times
EMERYVILLE, California: Companies such as OpenAI and Midjourney build chatbots, image generators and other artificial intelligence tools that operate in the digital world.
Now, a startup founded by three former OpenAI researchers is using the technology development methods behind chatbots to build AI technology that can navigate the physical world.
Covariant’s AI-powered Robotic Putwall system autonomously sorts items at the company’s headquarters in Emeryville, California. By combining camera and sensory data with the enormous amounts of text used to train chatbots like ChatGPT, Covariant has built AI technology that gives its robots a much broader understanding of the world around it. — The New York Times
CovariantÕs AIpowered Robotic Putwall system autonomously sorts items at the companyÕs headquarters in Emeryville, Calif., on March 8, 2024. (Balazs Gardi/The New York Times)
Tiana Ton Nu, a robotics applications engineer at Covariant, at the company's headquarters in Emeryville, Calif., on March 8, 2024. Covariant, a robotics start-up, is designing technology that lets robots learn skills like chatbots. (Balazs Gardi/The New York Times)
Tiana Ton Nu, a robotics applications engineer at Covariant, at the company's headquarters in Emeryville, Calif., on March 8, 2024. (Balazs Gardi/The New York Times)
Peter Chen, chief executive and co-founder of Covariant, at the company's headquarters in Emeryville, Calif., on March 8, 2024. Covariant, a robotics start-up, is designing technology that lets robots learn skills like chatbots. (Balazs Gardi/The New York Times)
Peter Chen, chief executive and cofounder of Covariant, at the company's headquarters in Emeryville, Calif., on March 8, 2024. (Balazs Gardi/The New York Times)
Pieter Abbeel, president, chief scientist and co-founder of Covariant, at the company's headquarters in Emeryville, Calif., on March 8, 2024. Covariant, a robotics start-up, is designing technology that lets robots learn skills like chatbots. (Balazs Gardi/The New York Times)
Pieter Abbeel, president, chief scientist and cofounder of Covariant, at the company's headquarters in Emeryville, Calif., on March 8, 2024. (Balazs Gardi/The New York Times)
Rocky Duan, the chief technology officer and co-founder of Covariant, at the company's headquarters in Emeryville, Calif., on March 8, 2024. Covariant, a robotics start-up, is designing technology that lets robots learn skills like chatbots. (Balazs Gardi/The New York Times)
Rocky Duan, the chief technology officer and cofounder of Covariant, at the company's headquarters in Emeryville, Calif., on March 8, 2024. (Balazs Gardi/The New York Times)
A computer keyboard at Covariant’s headquarters in Emeryville, Calif., on March 8, 2024. Covariant, a robotics start-up, is designing technology that lets robots learn skills like chatbots. (Balazs Gardi/The New York Times)
A computer keyboard at CovariantÕs headquarters in Emeryville, Calif., on March 8, 2024. (Balazs Gardi/The New York Times)
From left, Andrew Sohn, product manager; Daniel Adelberg, senior software engineer; and Arusha Nagabandi, a research scientist, at Covariant’s headquarters in Emeryville, Calif. on March 8, 2024. Covariant, a robotics start-up, is designing technology that lets robots learn skills much like chatbots do. (Balazs Gardi/The New York Times)
From left, Andrew Sohn, product manager; Daniel Adelberg, senior software engineer; and Arusha Nagabandi, a research scientist, at CovariantÕs headquarters in Emeryville, Calif. on March 8, 2024. (Balazs Gardi/The New York Times)
Peter Chen, the co-founder and chief executive of Covariant, uses his laptop to interact with an AI-powered robot at Covariant’s headquarters in Emeryville, Calif., on March 8, 2024. Covariant, a robotics start-up, is designing technology that lets robots learn skills like chatbots. (Balazs Gardi/The New York Times)
Peter Chen, the cofounder and chief executive of Covariant, uses his laptop to interact with an AI-powered robot at CovariantÕs headquarters in Emeryville, Calif., on March 8, 2024. (Balazs Gardi/The New York Times)
Marketing associate Charlotte Smith works at Covariant’s headquarters in Emeryville, Calif., on March 8, 2024. Covariant, a robotics start-up, is designing technology that lets robots learn skills like chatbots. (Balazs Gardi/The New York Times)
Marketing associate Charlotte Smith works at CovariantÕs headquarters in Emeryville, Calif., on March 8, 2024. (Balazs Gardi/The New York Times)
Peter Chen, the co-founder and chief executive of Covariant, uses his laptop to interact with an AI-powered robot at Covariant’s headquarters in Emeryville, Calif., on March 8, 2024. Covariant, a robotics start-up, is designing technology that lets robots learn skills like chatbots. (Balazs Gardi/The New York Times)
Peter Chen, the cofounder and chief executive of Covariant, uses his laptop to interact with an AI-powered robot at CovariantÕs headquarters in Emeryville, Calif., on March 8, 2024. (Balazs Gardi/The New York Times)
Covariant’s AI-powered Robotic Putwall system autonomously sorts items at the company’s headquarters in Emeryville, Calif., on March 8, 2024. Covariant, a robotics start-up, is designing technology that lets robots learn skills like chatbots. (Balazs Gardi/The New York Times)
CovariantÕs AIpowered Robotic Putwall system autonomously sorts items at the companyÕs headquarters in Emeryville, Calif., on March 8, 2024. (Balazs Gardi/The New York Times)
