Meet the Chinese Startup Using AI--and a Small Army of Workers--to Train Robots

AgiBot is using AI-powered robots to do new manufacturing tasks. Smarter machines may transform physical labor in China. AgiBot, a humanoid robotics company based in Shanghai, has engineered a way for two-armed robots to learn manufacturing tasks through human training and real-world practice on a factory production line. The company says its system, which combines teleoperation and reinforcement learning, is being tested on a production line belonging to Longcheer Technology, a Chinese company that manufactures smartphones, VR headsets, and other electronic gadgets. AgiBot's project shows how more advanced AI is starting to change the abilities of industrial machines--an innovation that may creep into new areas of manufacturing in China and elsewhere.