Alphabet’s artificial intelligence lab is debuting two new models focused on robotics, which will help developers train robots to respond to unfamiliar scenarios — a longstanding challenge in the field.

Google DeepMind announces that it will launch Gemini Robotics, a new division of its flagship AI model focused on creating more interactive and agile robots. Gemini Robotics-ER, another model that focuses on spatial comprehension, will assist robot developers in creating new programs that make use of Gemini's reasoning powers.

DeepMind engineer Kanishka Rao says, “By applying Gemini to robots, Google is moving closer to developing general purpose robotics that can field a variety of tasks. Our worlds are super messy and dynamic and rich, and I think a general purpose intelligent robot needs to be able to deal with that messiness.”

The goal of creating robots that are as capable as humans is gaining new interest and funding in Silicon Valley. OpenAI, Tesla Inc., and Meta Platforms Inc. have increased their robotics efforts, and entrepreneurs are negotiating to get capital at exorbitant prices.

Google researchers recorded a demonstration of how their technology-powered robots reacted to basic commands. When a trainer prompted one robot to form a word, it spelt "Ace" while standing in front of a scattering of letter tiles.

In the lab, engineers also arranged a little toy basketball court. When instructed to dunk, a different robot pushed a tiny plastic ball through the basket.

“The team was excited when we first saw the robot dunk the basketball,” Rao said. “It’s because the robot has never seen anything related to basketball. It’s getting this general concept, understanding of what a basketball net looks like and what the word ‘slam dunk’ means from Gemini and can connect those to accomplish the task in the physical world.”

Google's robotics past is a bit tumultuous. In order to support cofounders Larry Page and Sergey Brin's vision of creating consumer-focused robots through machine learning, the business purchased at least eight robotics companies more than ten years ago.

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As the years passed, the projects converged within Alphabet's moonshot lab, Google X, and in 2021, a division named Everyday Robots was established, specializing in robots that carried out routine chores like garbage sorting. Two years or so later, Alphabet declared that the division would be shut down as part of its massive budget cuts for 2023.