Tokyo (SCCIJ) – Boston Dynamics, probably the most famous producer of multi-purpose robots, is coming to Switzerland. Its research arm, the Boston Dynamics AI Institute, will establish a presence in Zurich at the start of 2024. The institute covers the four core areas of cognitive AI, athletic AI, organic hardware design, and robot ethics.
The Boston Dynamics AI Institute aims to develop future generations of advanced robots, now also with a satellite office in Zurich, Switzerland (© BD AI Institute).
Intelligent machines
A creation of Marc Raibert, who also founded Boston Dynamics, the AI Institute aims to develop machines that contribute to human safety, care for the disabled and elderly, enhance industrial productivity, and help people live their lives more fully.
Headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the research-driven organization unites elite talent in robotics, research and data science, electrical, mechanical, and software engineering to develop technology that enables future generations of intelligent machines.
Advanced robots
The US-based institute now has over 150 full-time staff and 10 visiting professors occupying more than 100,000 square feet of lab and office space in the heart of Cambridge’s Kendall Square. The team has all the skills needed to develop smart robots.
The Institute’s culture is designed to combine the best of university research labs with the best features of corporate development labs. The focus is on the most important problems in artificial intelligence related to robotics, to achieve fundamental advances in the engineering and science of robotics and other intelligent machines.
Growth in Europe
To support further growth and attract the best talent in Europe, the AI Institute is opening an office in Zurich in early 2024. The Zurich team will work to further advance intelligent, agile, and dexterous robotic systems that will operate in some of the world’s most challenging environments.
It will expand the Institute’s focus in core areas such as AI, hardware design, machine learning, dexterous mobile manipulation, and robot ethics. According to the institute, Zurich was chosen as a location to connect the institute with talent, universities, and research organizations in the vibrant European ecosystem.
Pure-play robotics
Institute founder Marc Raibert is responsible for the strategic roadmap and helping recruit the exceptional talent needed. He also serves as the Chairman of the Board at Boston Dynamics, which he founded in 1992.
A spin-off from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston Dynamics is one of the most influential pure-play robotics organizations in the world, having produced robots such as BigDog, Atlas, Stretch, and Spot. The company was first supported by Google, then Softbank, and now belongs to Hyundai Motor from South Korea.
Text: SCCIJ based on material of BD AI Institute
