The startup aiming to create human-like intelligence in robots
Phoenix is the world’s first humanoid general-purpose robot powered by Carbon, a unique AI control system, designed to give Phoenix human-like intelligence and enable it to do a wide range of work to help address the labour challenges affecting many organisations today. Sanctuary has been able to show that its technology is already capable of completing hundreds of tasks identified by customers from more than a dozen different industries.
“We designed Phoenix to be the most sensor-rich and physically capable humanoid ever built and to enable Carbon’s rapidly growing intelligence to perform the broadest set of work tasks possible,” said Geordie Rose, Co-Founder and CEO, Sanctuary AI. “We see a future where general-purpose robots are as ubiquitous as cars, helping people to do work that needs doing, in cases where there simply aren’t enough people to do that work.”
About Phoenix
Human-like form and function: standing at 5’ 7” and weighing 155 lbs
Maximum payload of 55lbs
Maximum speed of 3mph
Industry-leading robotic hands with increased degrees of freedom (20 in total) that rival human hand dexterity and fine manipulation with proprietary haptic technology that mimics the sense of touch
Improved aesthetics with a bolder colour palette and elevated textures
About Carbon
A cognitive architecture and software platform for humanoid general-purpose robots
Integrates modern AI technologies to translate natural language into action in the real world
Enables Phoenix to think and act to complete tasks like a person
Explainable and auditable reasoning, task, and motion plans
Symbolic and logical reasoning coupled with modern LLMs (for general knowledge), domain-specific integrations, and extensions
Agency and goal-seeking behaviours
Uses Deep Learning & Reinforcement Learning
Photo-realistic and physics-realistic world simulations for robot training
Human-in-the-loop supervision, teleoperation, and fleet management
What sets Sanctuary AI apart from others in the industry is its literal take on ‘general-purpose’ and emphasis on creating a technology that can conduct physical work just like a person.
“To be general-purpose, a robot needs to be able to do nearly any work task, the way you’d expect a person to, in the environment where the work is,” said Rose. “While it is easy to get fixated on the physical aspects of a robot, our view is that the robot is just a tool for the real star of the show, which in our case is our proprietary AI control system, the robot’s Carbon-based mind.”
In March, Sanctuary AI announced it completed its first commercial deployment, a significant milestone in the company’s progress toward full commercialisation. At that same time, Sanctuary AI announced it was taking an open and collaborative approach to building a new ecosystem in AI and robotics. To fulfil the ambitious mission of creating human-like intelligence in general-purpose robots, Sanctuary AI assembled a robust coalition of best-in-class vendors and partners – including Apptronik, Bell, Common Sense Machines, Contoro, Cycorp, Exonetik, HaptX, Magna, Tangible Research, Verizon Ventures, and Workday Ventures.
Last spring, the company announced the completion of its Series A funding round. In November, the company received a $30 million Strategic Innovation Fund (SIF) contribution from the Government of Canada, bringing Sanctuary AI’s total funding to over $100 million. Sanctuary AI is active in its next funding round to fuel its mission.
2023-08-29
