VLAs and the Robot Data Gap
Lerobot Hackathon, CASE, Hard Tech Venture Summit and SF Deep Tech Week
In the first of a series of “Automation Spotlights” from the IEEE RAS Automation Technical Cluster Ken Goldberg reveals how real-world robot deployments and AI can help bridge the 100,000-year data gap between robotics and language models—unlocking the path to general-purpose robots.
Professor Ken Goldberg highlighted the challenges in robotics data collection, noting that current datasets are orders of magnitude smaller than those for vision and language models. He discussed the success of systems like Waymo and Amazon's Ambi Sort, which combine data with engineering principles. Goldberg proposed four methods to close the data gap: simulation, video data, human teleoperation, and real-world production data. He stressed the importance of reliability and adaptability in robotics, advocating for a balanced approach that integrates data with traditional engineering practices.
COMMUNITY NEWS
The IEEE International Conference on Automation Science and Engineering (CASE) is the flagship automation conference of the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society (RAS) and constitutes the primary forum for cross-industry and multidisciplinary research in automation. Its goal is to provide broad coverage and dissemination of foundational research in automation among researchers and practitioners.
CASE 2025 will be held on August 17 – August 21, 2025, in Los Angeles, California, USA. The pre-conference workshops will be held on August 17, 2025. This is a great opportunity to showcase to the world’s leading automation, robotics and engineering community.
Sponsor and exhibitor information can be found here and you can also apply for the IEEE RAS IAB Startup Zone (discounted exhibit space and conference registration).
Deep Tech Week is back in SF with a full calendar of events, a massive party on the USS Hornet and plenty of space for robot demos! You can apply to showcase here.
Official Discord: https://discord.gg/pnmn9XfR8C Organizer: https://x.com/Andercot
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Robotics News
Robots made of linked particle chains, can move, explore, cooperate without sensing or computation - Harvard School of Engineering
Who Gives a S#!t About Cursing Robots? - IEEE Spectrum
Should AI And Robots Be Taxed To Protect Workers? - Forbes
UBer CEO Shares Updates on an Autonomous Future - Bloomberg
Here’s what China’s advanced humanoid robots can do - SlashGear
Online brothels, sex robots, simulated rape: AI is ushering in a new age of violence against women - The Guardian
How Human Does a Humanoid Robot Need to Look - A3 Industry Insights
The Robots Are Coming - Morgan Stanley
Tesla’s Optimus robot VP is reportedly leaving the company - TechCrunch
Tesla’s Head of Optimus Humanoid Robot Program Exits Company - Bloomberg
Amazon is reportedly training humanoid robots to deliver packages - The Verge
Amazon’s Building Humanoid Robots to Speed Deliveries to You - CNET
Amazon might start using humanoid robots to deliver packages - Mashable
Amazon delivery robots part of plan to automate $200B in logistics costs: analyst - CNBC
Amazon prepares to test humanoid robots for deliveries, The information reports - Reuters
Amazon ‘testing humanoid robots to deliver packages’ - The Guardian
Hugging Face says its new robotics model is so efficient it can run on a MacBook - TechCrunch
Renault Group finalizes a strategic partnership with Wandercraft, a leader in next generation robotics - GlobeNewswire
HEBI Robotics awarded innovation research grant - Pennsylvania Business Report
DeCicco & Sons Deploys Simbe’s Store Intelligence Platform - Progressive Grocer
Nokia to lead PROACTIF, a multimillion Europe robotics and unmanned technology project - NOKIA
Autonomous ship trials to be held in Singapore - Riviera
Walmart and Amazon Chase Agentic AI, Robotics Warehouses and Customer Loyalty - PYMNTS
NVIDIA Advances AI Innovation And Autonomous Vehicles With New Partnerships - Yahoo Finance
Contractor makes own PV-panel laying robots - Global Construction Review
Mushrooms and Robots: 4 Startups Making Construction Cleaner - Inc.
Silicon Ranch invests $3 million in autonomous solar O&M company Swap Robotics - Solar Power World
From Concept to Curbside: Zoox and Resorts World’s hospitality-driven autonomous mobility - Phocuswire
Spanish startup Voltrac raises EU2 million to launch autonomous tractor platform for agriculture and frontline logistics - EU Startups
Kubota and Agtonomy expand partnership on autonomous farming solutions - Future Farming
Hyundai’s Parking Robots Turn a Lot into a Lot of Fun - That Eric Alper
Why It’s So hard to Make a Reliable Self-Driving Car - Bloomberg
Where next for autonomous safety assessment? - Automotive World
Autonomous truck startup Plus to go public in $1.2 billion deal with Michael Klein-backed SPAC - Reuters
Saildrone and Meta Complete First Unmanned Autonomous Deep-Water Route Survey in the North Atlantic - NavalNews
Exclusive: New autonomous tractor can shift from farming to warfare - TNW
AI robots help nurses beat burnout and transform hospital care - FOX News
Robotics Events
CVPR Nashville Tennessee - June 11-15
Hugging Face Le Robot Hackathon Mountain View - June 14-15
Hard Tech Venture Summit & Startup Manufacturing Workshop - June 18-19
Deep Tech Week Robot Party - June 22
SVR Robotics Leadership Summit - June 30
Actuate - Sep 23-24
SVR Robotics Investment Summit - Sep 25
ROSCON Singapore - Oct 27-30
SVR Robotics Leadership Summit - Dec 10
Humanoids Summit - Dec 11-12
Join the organizing team at Silicon Valley Robotics - bots&beer@svrobo.org
