Mentee's AI approach

Recently, Mentee Robotics Co-CEO, Lior Wolf, gave a public lecture on the company's innovative AI-first approach to building the next generation of humanoid robots. Learn how Mentee is challenging conventional wisdom in the field and why they believe their method gives them a competitive edge. Key topics include:

Mentee's unique sim2real technology and its applications in locomotion, dexterity, and navigation
The importance of modular AI systems in creating truly adaptive and capable robots
The limitations of end-to-end training and large-scale data collection for humanoid robotics
How Mentee integrates cutting-edge developments in 3D modeling, perception, and language models

MenteeBot is a shopping companion

Mentee Robotics is revolutionizing the field of robotics with the introduction of MenteeBot, a fully capable humanoid robot that integrates robotics, sensing, and AI to deliver human-like dexterity and perception.

Mentee Robotics applies a practical AI approach that combines multiple robust components to create a stable platform with versatile capabilities. The company builds a complete vertical solution, from hardware to AI, aiming to provide the first truly useful robot, which will be available to select customers in 2025.

In discussions with a large international retailer, the use case of pushing a shopping cart for an elderly individual was suggested. Simultaneously, Mentee Robotics was approached by a large chain of nursing homes facing challenges due to labor shortages.

In response to these use cases, the MenteeBot team quickly developed the capability for the robot to grab a shopping cart and follow a person in a wheelchair, stopping each time the person stops to put items in the cart. The robot pushes the cart with a very natural flow, making it an ideal shopping companion.

The result can be seen in the video below:

Mentee Robotics is overcoming the data and sim-to-real gap by training inside the NVIDIA Isaac Lab, a simulation application framework for reinforcement learning built on the NVIDIA Omniverse platform, using various assets available through the framework. Mentee Robotics also has proprietary technology for overcoming this gap, which provides natural, human-like motion and the ability to learn new actions quickly within the simulator.

Mentee Robotics is a leader in locomotion and dexterity, combining both in a robotic platform that can navigate in a marker-less 3D world. All computing occurs on the robot itself, using two NVIDIA Jetson Orin system-on-modules, and the battery can run for hours. The next generation (V3), expected by the end of 2024, will include a detachable battery, enabling MenteeBots to work three shifts a day in warehouses, manufacturing factories, retail stores, and as a helping force in nursing homes.

Onboarding new robot

Menteebot can navigate complex environments by combining a 3D model of the world with a dynamic obstacle map.

On the first day in a new location, Menteebot generates the 3D model by following a person who shows the robot around.

This demonstration also showcases turning in place to keep the person at the center of its field of view. This is important since Menteebots are mentored by their human colleagues. The video also features the LLM OS in action as well as various types of gait.