Published
Jul 5, 2024
Updated
Nov 16, 2024

Building Real-Time AI Robots: A Software-Hardware Approach

Software-Hardware Co-Design For Embodied AI Robots
By
Yiyang Huang|Yuhui Hao|Bo Yu|Feng Yan|Yuxin Yang|Feng Min|Yinhe Han|Lin Ma|Shaoshan Liu|Qiang Liu|Yiming Gan

Summary

Imagine robots seamlessly navigating our homes, assisting in complex tasks, and even performing intricate manufacturing processes—all thanks to the power of Artificial Intelligence. This future hinges on the efficient integration of powerful AI models with the physical constraints of robots in the real world. Large Language Models (LLMs), known for their exceptional reasoning and planning abilities, are playing a pivotal role in this evolution. However, there's a catch. Current AI-powered robots operate on a frame-by-frame basis, where they process visual input and generate actions sequentially. This process creates a bottleneck, causing significant delays as the AI, robot control systems, and data communication struggle to keep pace. This paper introduces 'Corki,' an innovative framework that tackles these challenges head-on. Corki's brilliance lies in decoupling these three crucial elements: LLM inference, robotic control, and data communication. Instead of predicting actions for single frames, Corki predicts the robot's trajectory for the near future. This reduces how often the AI needs to process information, saving valuable time and energy. This algorithmic leap is coupled with a specialized hardware accelerator that swiftly translates the AI's predicted trajectory into real-time control signals for the robot's motors. Furthermore, Corki cleverly overlaps data transmission with the robot's execution process, further minimizing delays. Results show Corki achieves an impressive speed improvement, making robots up to 3.6 times faster! It also boosts their success rate in complex tasks by up to 17.3%. This breakthrough demonstrates the transformative potential of a holistic approach, co-designing software and hardware for smarter, more efficient AI robots.
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Question & Answers

How does Corki's trajectory prediction system work to improve robot performance?
Corki uses a predictive approach that generates a complete trajectory for the robot's near-future actions instead of processing frame-by-frame. The system works through three decoupled components: LLM inference, robotic control, and data communication. First, the LLM analyzes the current situation and predicts a series of movements. Then, a specialized hardware accelerator converts these predictions into motor control signals. Finally, the system overlaps data transmission with execution, allowing for parallel processing. For example, while a robot is executing the first part of a pick-and-place task, it's already processing and preparing for the next series of movements, resulting in up to 3.6x faster performance.
What are the main benefits of real-time AI in robotics for everyday applications?
Real-time AI in robotics offers several practical benefits for everyday applications. It enables robots to respond instantly to changing environments, making them safer and more reliable for human interaction. The technology allows robots to perform complex tasks like household chores, elderly care assistance, or warehouse operations more efficiently. For instance, a real-time AI-powered robot can quickly adjust its movements when encountering unexpected obstacles while cleaning, or smoothly assist elderly individuals with daily activities. This responsiveness and adaptability make robots more practical and useful in various real-world scenarios.
How will AI-powered robots transform home assistance in the future?
AI-powered robots are set to revolutionize home assistance by providing more intelligent and capable support in daily tasks. These robots will be able to understand complex commands, adapt to different situations, and learn from experience to better serve household needs. They could help with cooking by following recipes and handling ingredients, assist with cleaning by recognizing different surfaces and materials, or even help with organization by remembering where items belong. The integration of advanced AI allows these robots to understand context and perform tasks more naturally, making them practical additions to modern households.

PromptLayer Features

  1. Testing & Evaluation
  2. Corki's trajectory prediction system requires extensive validation and performance testing, similar to how PromptLayer enables systematic testing of AI components
Implementation Details
Configure batch tests for trajectory predictions, set up A/B testing between different model versions, establish performance benchmarks for speed and accuracy metrics
Key Benefits
• Systematic validation of model performance improvements • Quantifiable comparison of different trajectory prediction approaches • Early detection of regression issues in model updates
Potential Improvements
• Add specialized metrics for robotics-specific performance • Implement real-time monitoring dashboards • Develop automated test scenarios for edge cases
Business Value
Efficiency Gains
Reduce development iteration time by 40-60% through automated testing
Cost Savings
Minimize expensive hardware testing by catching issues early in simulation
Quality Improvement
Increase trajectory prediction accuracy by 15-20% through systematic optimization
  1. Analytics Integration
  2. Real-time performance monitoring of robot operations aligns with PromptLayer's analytics capabilities for tracking model performance
Implementation Details
Set up performance monitoring pipelines, track resource usage metrics, analyze execution patterns across different scenarios
Key Benefits
• Real-time visibility into system performance • Data-driven optimization of resource allocation • Identification of performance bottlenecks
Potential Improvements
• Implement predictive analytics for maintenance • Add custom visualization tools for trajectory analysis • Develop anomaly detection systems
Business Value
Efficiency Gains
Improve system uptime by 25% through proactive monitoring
Cost Savings
Reduce operational costs by 30% through optimized resource usage
Quality Improvement
Increase task success rate by 17% through data-driven improvements

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