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Sony has entered into an AI partnership with Carnegie Mellon University which will see the two work together on research that centers around artificial intelligence and robotics. More specifically, the research will start with development on AI robotics that will work with food before moving on to other industries. Part of the reason for this is because both Sony and CMU agree that robotics having the ability to work through the complex nature of preparing and cooking food would allow the machines to be more easily be adapted to other tasks where steps for completing those tasks aren’t as challenging.
Before things can move forward, both Sony and CMU have to find a jumping off point. According to the press release that jumping off point will start with manipulation robots and mobile robots. Existing manipulation robots and mobile robots will lead the charge but Sony and CMU plan to work on research and development of robots that are “domain-specific” with a sole focus on preparing food. According to Sony’s belief, robots that are equipped to handle irregularly-shaped materials like different food ingredients would be what allows the robots to adapt and use those skills elsewhere even if it has nothing to do with the food industry.
Sony Corporate Executive Dr. Hiroaki Kitano will be heading up the research and development team, with most of the work being done at Carnegie Mellon University’s School of Computer Science. Though this partnership will focus largely on AI and robotics in food, the partnership also includes Sony committing to supporting non-related AI and robotics research and development of CMU through Sony’s Seed Acceleration Program. Sony and CMU are also “confident” that this research will lead to advancements in AI and robotics that can be applied to a larger spectrum of industries, though no specifics in regards to which industries were mentioned.