Diligent Robotics’ new AI advisory board to advance embodied AI in healthcare robotics

By The Robot Report Staff | December 10, 2024

Since it was founded in 2017, Diligent Robotics Inc. has worked to deploy AI-powered mobile manipulators that collaborate with hospital teams. Today, the company announced the formation of its AI Advisory Board, which will provide insights into the latest artificial intelligence research. 

The advisory board is made up of leaders from Stanford, NYU, and Carnegie Mellon. Diligent Robotics the members for their research in collaborative robotics. In particular, the Austin, Texas-based company looked for researchers who focus on robots that operate alongside and learn from people in real-world environments.

“By partnering with these exceptional thought leaders, and their decades of academic excellence and research in embodied AI, this advisory board represents a unique opportunity to push the boundaries of embodied AI by bringing together our proven real-world success with the unmatched expertise of these world-renowned researchers,” stated Dr. Andrea Thomaz, founder and CEO of Diligent Robotics. “Together, we’re setting a new standard for how robots collaborate with humans to solve real-world challenges.”

Diligent Robotics said it has prioritized creating robots that not only perform tasks but also complement human strengths. Moxi, its flagship robot, is used by healthcare teams nationwide. It can navigate complex environments, manage delicate lab workflows, and operate with precision in patient care settings, Diligent said.

Last month, Diligent Robotics announced that its Moxi robot has completed 110,000 autonomous elevator rides at health systems in the U.S. It said the achievement marked a milestone in AI-driven automation for unstructured healthcare environments. 

Who will be on the AI advisory board?

Diligent said the AI Advisory Board is the next step in its evolution. The company asserted that the board will enhance its leadership in embodied AI and ensure that its robots remain at the forefront of innovation.

The experts on the board bring a shared commitment to advancing robots that operate intuitively alongside people and continuously adapt to dynamic, human-centered environments. The AI advisory board members include:

• Jeannette Bohg, Stanford University: A leader in multisensory interactive mobile manipulation and director of the Stanford AI Lab’s Interactive Perception and Robot Learning Lab.
• Artur Dubrawski, Carnegie Mellon University (CMU): Director of the Auton Lab, specializing in machine learning for robotics in complex environments.
• Oliver Kroemer, CMU: A pioneer in lifelong robot manipulation learning and adaptive skill acquisition.
• Lerrel Pinto, New York University: Expert in large-scale general robot learning and founder of the General-purpose Robotics and AI Lab (GRAIL).
• Dorsa Sadigh, Stanford: Specialist in cross-embodiment robot learning and human-robot interaction, advancing collaborative robotics.
• Ruslan Salakhutdinov, CMU: Renowned for groundbreaking work in deep learning and optimization, shaping the future of AI at scale.

By combining decades of academic research and practical expertise, Diligent Robotics said the board will work closely with it to push the boundaries of embodied AI. The company added that the researchers’ focus on collaborative robotics ensures that Moxi—and future generations of its robots—will continue to lead the field in how robots interact, adapt, and learn from the people they support.

“This advisory board represents an unparalleled opportunity for Diligent Robotics to bridge the gap between commercial innovation and academic research,” said Thomaz. “Each of our new advisory board members brings a unique expertise and viewpoint on embodied AI and human-robot collaboration in particular. ”

“We’re combining the world’s best minds in AI research with our established expertise in deploying humanoid robots in real-world healthcare settings,” she said. “Together, we’ll not only advance the science of embodied AI but also redefine how robots interact intelligently with the world around them, transforming industries like healthcare and beyond.”

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