Intrinsic
Reimagining what people can create and do with robotics
Intrinsic is an AI and robotics company working to unlock the creative and economic potential of intelligent robotics. While incubating at the Moonshot Factory, the team developed a range of software algorithms and capabilities that make industrial robotics easier to use, less costly and more flexible. Today, the team is building a platform that makes industrial robots radically easier to program, teach and operate, so more people can utilize robotics and make new products, businesses and services.
Reimagining How Goods Are Made and Who Makes Them
Industrial robots are essential to manufacturing, building everything from cars to solar panels, but their capabilities are limited to a specific set of tasks and industries because they’re expensive to purchase, set up, and operate. These robots require specialized knowledge to program and use — teaching a robot how to perform a new task like welding car panels together can take hundreds of manual programming hours. What’s more, industrial robots usually need to be operated in controlled and unchanging environments because they aren’t equipped to understand and respond to their surroundings.
The high cost and specialized expertise needed put industrial robots impractically out of reach for most businesses. As a result, just 10 countries manufacture 70% of the world’s goods, a concentration of power and contributing factor to higher global transport emissions.
Just 10 countries manufacture 70% of the world’s goods.
What If Robots Could Be As Easy to Use and Code As Computers Are Today?
The Intrinsic team saw an opportunity to drive a more sustainable and equitable manufacturing process by making industrial robotics easier to use. The team started its journey at the Moonshot Factory by asking “How can recent breakthroughs in robotics and AI be used to reimagine what people can do and make with industrial robots?”
Just as the personal computing revolution unlocked more opportunities for businesses and people, industrial robotics is on the brink of a similar transformation thanks to several converging trends. First, the cost of industrial robot hardware is declining, while low-cost sensors help robots gather much richer data about their environment. Additionally, advances in computer vision and machine learning allow robots to perceive and respond to their surroundings and learn how to do more dexterous tasks.
A robot arm using machine learning and force-control to grasp and insert different connectors.
Learning in a Lab and with Partners
The Intrinsic team spent several years exploring how techniques like automated perception, deep learning, reinforcement learning, motion planning, force control, and simulation could be combined to make industrial robots more useful and flexible.
They developed a set of software and AI tools that use sensor data from a robot’s environment so that it can sense, learn from, and quickly adapt to the real world. Early partnerships included working with Gramazio Kohler Research at ETH Zurich and tests in the lab.
Orchestrating four industrial robots and two gantries to build wooden pods for a sustainable architecture project by Gramazio Kohler Research, ETH Zurich
Intrinsic Today
After five and a half years developing its technology at X, Intrinsic became an independent Alphabet company in July 2021. After graduating, the team launched Flowstate, a tool for developers to build their own robotic applications, and welcomed Vicarious and ORSC to the team. Today, Intrinsic is working with innovation partners globally — including Siemens, NVIDIA and Comau — to test and develop software solutions that improve industrial robotics’ usability and versatility. The team is also building a platform that supports AI-enabled applications that are easy to build and operate.
