Using VR headsets and controllers, Chinese researchers are teaching humanoids to carry out everyday tasks.
In a laboratory in Wuhan, China, a group of humanoid robots is being trained like students in a classroom - learning everything from making coffee to doing chores.
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Engineers are collecting huge amounts of data by physically teaching robots how to move and complete tasks. The process involves human trainers wearing virtual reality equipment and guiding the robots’ movements in real time.
“We wear VR (virtual reality) glasses and have controllers in hand. Our left and right hands are like the robot's left and right arms. It will learn our postures by moving them. The data will be uploaded to the cloud. Once the data is approved (forming a dataset), it will be uploaded to the robot, and it will learn from it, said Qu Qiongbin, an AI robot trainer who collects data for the systems.
She added: “It’s actually a very interesting process. I feel a great sense of accomplishment when I get it to complete the task, just like teaching my own child and feeling like it has grown up."
Inside the facility, located in Wuhan's East Lake High-tech Development Zone, also known as “Optics Valley of China,” robots are placed in carefully designed real-world environments - including living rooms and factory workshops - where they practice everyday actions.
Trainers operate the machines repeatedly to build large datasets that allow the robots to gradually learn new skills.
“We train and teach robots by creating realistic, one-to-one scenarios. Trainers may repeat a single action hundreds, thousands, or even tens of thousands of times to teach it, and then use the data to support this training,” said Yang Xinyi, project leader at Data Fusion Technology.
Researchers say the aim is to accelerate the development of humanoid robots that can operate in real-world environments.
Visitors can already interact with some of the machines at the 7S Humanoid Robot Store in Wuhan, where the public can see how robots respond to commands and carry out simple tasks.
