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Posts tagged as “Embodied AI”

[embodied ai seven]: it’s over!

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You survived the Embodied AI Workshop and all you got was that lousy t-shirt!

I'm promising myself not to over-complicate this post, so here's the short story: it went well! But we were making changes up to the previous day, so between the time that we printed the above poster and the actual talk, two of the speakers had changed - one speaker replaced their own backup, and another speaker who had dropped out was replaced by a volunteer speaker the afternoon before!

As CVPR (our parent conference) said, "Printed materials may be out of date ... check the website!" Which we did keep up to date: https://embodied-ai.org/cvpr2026 ... overall, though, the workshop was well attended. The best attended talk was my buddy Lewis Chiang's, a roboticist at Google DeepMind who I always thought was a superstar and I guess he's well on his way:

Over 70 people attended the talk and at least a dozen people were remote. While there were a few open seats up front, it still created a standing-room-only vibe:

All in all we had nine speakers, two highlight sessions for embodied AI challenges and accepted papers, a poster session, and a concluding debate. The very first picture is me, Lewis and Dinesh, another speaker at the workshop, discussing the nuances and challenges of safety in long-horizon embodied AI - a fancy way of asking "how to keep our agents from killing us if we let them loose."

There's more to say about this - CVPR is huge, so huge that it perhaps it was a mistake to go see the Backrooms movie after wandering around the massive Colorado Convention Center:

But, the long and the short of it is, we survived!

And now it's time to enjoy the rest of the conference ... at a much slower pace.

-the Centaur

Pictured: the final debate, the image of the schedule poster, the schedule poster in action, Lewis's talk, the standing room only audience, the keynote rooms, the expo floor and CVPR's massive collection of posters, the EAI7 dinner, and me in front of the expo proper. Now it's time for a nap.

The Embodied AI Workshop Starts … Now

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Well ... SOON.

The Embodied AI Workshop starts in just under an hour at Room 107 at the Colorado Convention Center! Hope to see you all there, or you'll all be square.

Well.

All of you wouldn't fit in the room, so I guess you don't have to be square if you're not there. But you can find out more about it here: https://embodied-ai.org/cvpr2026/

I hope you check it out! We've got a lot of great speakers and if you're registered with CVPR you can access it remotely here: https://cvpr.thecvf.com/virtual/2026/workshop/36064

-the Centaur

Announcing the Seventh Annual Embodied AI Workshop

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SO! I am pleased to announce that the Embodied AI Workshop returns in its seventh year at the CVPR conference! No playing of spoons for the Sylvester McCoy fans - this seventh incarnation will focus on World Models for Embodied AI - which is a fancy way of saying we're trying to take all that generative AI goodness that you see in language models and image / video models and turn it towards agents controlling bodies.

Once again, I have thrown my body on the grenade of a banner image, and, as usual, since "the client" is an artificial intelligence workshop, I have unabashedly chosen to use generative AI to help generate it. Frankly, it seems to be improving: I asked on riffs on the previous year's characters (see below) and the Denver skyline and, more or less, it was able to recreate characters that looked like I asked for. I think ChatGPT managed a good job of taking our mascot robot guitarist and making her into a climber ... down to the headphones, which is a nice detail!

For the record, these were produced with Midjourney and ChatGPT for ideation, ChatGPT for character creation and tweaking, Midjourney for image extension and modifying ... and my expertise, as a physical artist and 30+ year digital image jockey, using my skills to manipulate a 200+ layer Photoshop file.

If you think you can create any of my graphics using an off-the-shelf generative AI system ... good luck.

[Why, yes, I have a number of friends who absolutely hate generative AI ... why do you ask?]

This year's theme of World Models for Embodied AI is played out in three subthemes: World Models for Action and Evaluation (using world models of physics, or video models where physics is implicit), the Resurgence of Classic Methods (embodied AI using "older" techniques such as reinforcement learning and its kissing cousin, model-predictive control), and Long-Horizon Embodied Intelligence (embodied AI for complicated tasks with many steps, particularly where safety is involved).

You can read more about it at https://embodied-ai.org/cvpr2026/ or at the announcement on the Embodied Artificial Intelligence Medium blog. We'll keep the site up-to-date, but will publish major announcements (like speaker confirmations, challenge confirmations, and what day of the week will we actually hold the workshop, when they tell us that is) on the Medium blog.

-the Centaur

Pictured: this year and last year's banner images, formatted for social media sharing on Mastodon.

not dead …

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... but ICRA, Con Carolinas, and CVPR are all now over, so I can breathe again.

More in a bit as I start to dig myself out of the piles ....

-the Centaur

Pictured: Bacon Turkey Bravo and Strawberry Poppyseed with Chicken Salad, at Panera, my fave lunch.

Embodied AI 6 Papers are due FRIDAY May 23rd AOE!

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Due to a snafu with the way the date and time were programmed into OpenReview, and having NOTHING AT ALL to do with us getting slightly fewer papers than we wanted (well, actually ....) we have extended the deadline for the Embodied AI Workshop's Call for Papers to Friday, May 23rd, AOE (Anywhere on Earth):

Please submit your 2-page extended abstracts on embodied AI, especially related to this year's themes of Embodied AI Solutions, Advances in Simulation, Generative Methods for Embodied AI, and Foundation Models for Embodied AI!

https://embodied-ai.org/cvpr2025/#call-for-papers

-the Centaur

Pictured: The banner for the Sixth Annual Embodied AI Workshop.

embodied ai six coming in june …

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Hey folks, I have been neck deep in preparations for a couple of workshops - the Advances in Social Robot Navigation one I already mentioned, coming up next week, but also the Embodied AI Workshop #6!

The Embodied AI workshop brings together researchers from computer vision, language, graphics, and robotics to share and discuss the latest advances in embodied intelligent agents. EAI 2025’s overaching theme is Real-World Applications: creating embodied AI solutions that are deployed in real-world environments, ideally in the service of real-world tasks. Embodied AI agents are maturing, and the community should promote work that transfers this research out of simulation and laboratory environments into real-world settings.

Our call for papers ends TOMORROW, Friday, May 16th, AOE (Anywhere on Earth) so please get your paper submissions in!

-the Centaur

[twenty twenty-four day one seven oh]: embodied ai #5

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Today is Embodied AI #5, running Tuesday, June 18 from 8:50am to 5:30pm Pacific in conjunction with CVPR 2024's workshop track on Egocentric & Embodied AI.

Here's how you can attend if you're part of the CVPR conference:

  • The physical workshop will be held in meeting room Summit 428.
  • The physical poster session will be held in room Arch 4E posters 50-81.
  • The workshop will also be on Zoom for CVPR virtual attendees.

Remote and in-person attendees are welcome to ask questions via Slack:

 Ask questions on Slack

Please join us at Embodied AI #5!

-the Centaur

Pictured: Our logo for the conference.

[twenty twenty-four day one six nine]: t minus one

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The Fifth Annual Embodied AI Workshop is tomorrow, from 8:50 to 5:30 in room Summit 428 in the Seattle Convention Center as part of the CVPR conference!

You can see our whole schedule at https://embodied-ai.org/, but, in brief, we'll have six invited speakers, two panel discussions, two sessions on embodied AI challenges, and a poster session!

Going to crash early now so I can tackle the day tomorrow!

-the Centaur

Pictured: More from the archives, as I ain't crackin' the hood open on this website until EAI#5 is over.

[twenty twenty-four day one six eight]: what ISN’T embodied AI?

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two hangry cats

The Embodied AI Workshop is coming up this Tuesday, starting at 8:50am, and I am busy procrastinating on my presentation(s) by trying to finish all the OTHER things which need to be done prior to the workshop.

One of the questions my talk raises is what ISN'T embodied AI. And the simplest way I can describe it is that if you don't have to interact with an environment, it isn't embodied.

Figuring out that the golden object on the left and the void on the right is a tremendously complex problem, solved by techniques like CNNs and their variants Inception and ResNet.

But it's a static problem. Recognizing things in the image doesn't change things in the image. But in the real world, you cannot observe things without affecting them.

This is a fundamental principle that goes all the way down to quantum mechanics. Functionally, we can ignore it for certain problems, but we can never make it go away.

So, classical non-interactive learning is an abstraction. If you have a function which goes from image to cat, and the cat can't whap you back for getting up in its bidnes, it isn't embodied.

-the Centaur

Pictured: Gabby, God rest his fuzzy little soul, and Loki, his grumpier cousin.

[twenty twenty-four post one six six]: what is embodied AI?

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big red stop button for a robot, i think from bosch

So, as I've said, Embodied AI is just around the corner. But what is this workshop about? Embodied AI, of course! It says so on the tin.

But the key thing that makes "embodied AI" different from computer vision is that you must interact with an environment; the key thing that makes "embodied AI" different from robotics is that technically it doesn't need to be a real physical environment, as long as the environment is dynamic and there are consequences for actions.

SO, we will have speakers talking about embodied navigation, manipulation, and vision; generative AI to create environments for embodied agents; augmented reality; humanoid robots; and more.

Okay, now I really am going to crash because I have to fly tomorrow.

Onward!

-the Centaur

Pictured: An e-stop (emergency stop) button from a robot. Looks a little jury-rigged there, Chester.

[twenty twenty-four post one six five]: embodied ai is almost here

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Ok, the image is from ICRA, but I am still traveling, and have not fixed the problem on the website backend. BUT, Embodied AI is this coming Tuesday, so please drop in if you are at CVPR!

More later, I had several long days at the customer site and I am going to go crash now.

-the Centaur

Embodied AI and Unsolved Problems in Social Robot Navigation

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Hey folks! One more sticky post reminding y'all that coming up next week is the Fifth Annual Embodied AI Workshop, Tuesday, June 18th, at CVPR, the Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition Conference. I am the lead organizer, though you'll probably only hear me yapping for any extended length of time if you show up in the first ten minutes - I give the intro talk at 8:50am.

Next is the Workshop on Unsolved Problems in Social Robot Navigation, held at the Robotics, Science and Systems Conference. Our paper deadline is coming up June 7th, and the workshop itself will be held July 19th at RSS in the Netherlands. I'm an organizer for this one, but I'll only be able to attend virtually due to my manager (me) telling me I'm already going to enough conferences this year, which I am.

After that .... Dragon Con!

-the Centaur

Pictured: Again, from the archives, until I fix the website backend.

The Nebulas, Embodied AI, and Unsolved Social Navigation

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Hey folks, another "sticky post" for my next three events: The Nebula Conference, the Embodied AI Workshop, and the Workshop on Unsolved Problems in Social Robot Navigation!

Coming up is the Nebula Conference, the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America's conference, where again I'll be talking about artificial intelligence and signing books!

  • Thursday, June 6th: 2:30pm: Anthony Francis Meet-and-Greet Table E Pasadena
  • Saturday, June 8th: 10:30am: Why AI Needs Humans Pasadena

There will also be office hours but I think you have to sign up in advance for those, and we have a scheduling snafu regarding those anyway.

After that is the Embodied AI Workshop on June 18th, hosted at CVPR, the Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition Conference, where I am the lead organizer, though you'll probably only hear me yapping for any extended length of time if you show up in the first ten minutes - I give the intro talk at 8:50am.

Finally is the Workshop on Unsolved Problems in Social Robot Navigation, held at the Robotics, Science and Systems Conference. Our paper deadline is coming up June 7th, and the workshop itself will be held July 19th at RSS in the Netherlands. I'm an organizer for this one, but I'll only be able to attend virtually due to my manager (me) telling me I'm already going to enough conferences this year, which I am.

After that .... Dragon Con!

-the Centaur

Pictured: More from the archives, until I fix the website backend.

Con Carolinas, the Nebulas, and the Embodied AI Workshop!

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The Centaur and His Books

Hey folks! I am appearing at several conventions in the next few weeks, so I'm creating a "sticky post" to let y'all know about my schedule - in case the problems I'm having with my blog software get worse, at least this will be up here to let y'all know I'll be talking about AI, robots and writing in the next few weeks!

First up is Con Carolinas, the Carolinas' longest running science fiction convention, where I will be on four panels and an author signing, talking about book openings, artificial intelligence, neurodivergence, and what's possible and what's not in science and science fiction!

Friday, May 31st:

Saturday, June 1:

Sunday, June 2:

Next up is the Nebula Conference, the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America's conference, where again I'll be talking about artificial intelligence and signing books!

  • Thursday, June 6th: 2:30pm: Anthony Francis Meet-and-Greet Table E Pasadena
  • Saturday, June 8th: 10:30am: Why AI Needs Humans Pasadena

There will also be office hours but I think you have to sign up in advance for those, and we have a scheduling snafu regarding those anyway.

Finally is the Embodied AI Workshop on June 18th, hosted at CVPR, the Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition Conference, where I am the lead organizer, though you'll probably only hear me yapping for any extended length of time if you show up in the first ten minutes - I give the intro talk at 8:50am.

Hope to see y'all there!

-Anthony

[twenty twenty four day one two five]: this is it

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This is it. Today, the 4th, is the last day to submit papers to the Embodied AI Workshop 2024, and we are not going to extend this deadline because we've gotten enough submissions so far that we, um, don't need to.

One more last time, the CFP:

Call for Papers

We invite high-quality 2-page extended abstracts on embodied AI, especially in areas relevant to the themes of this year's workshop:

  • Open-World AI for Embodied AI
  • Generative AI for Embodied AI
  • Embodied Mobile Manipulation
  • Language Model Planning

as well as themes related to embodied AI in general:

  • Simulation Environments
  • Visual Navigation
  • Rearrangement
  • Embodied Question Answering
  • Embodied Vision & Language

Accepted papers will be presented as posters or spotlight talks at the workshop. https://embodied-ai.org/#call-for-papers

Papers are due TODAY "anywhere on Earth" (as long as it is still today, your time).

Please send us what you've got!

-the Centaur

[twenty twenty-four day one two four]: last call for embodied ai papers!

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Hey folks! Today (Saturday May 4th) is the last day to submit papers to the Embodied AI Workshop 2024!

Call for Papers

We invite high-quality 2-page extended abstracts on embodied AI, especially in areas relevant to the themes of this year's workshop:

  • Open-World AI for Embodied AI
  • Generative AI for Embodied AI
  • Embodied Mobile Manipulation
  • Language Model Planning

as well as themes related to embodied AI in general:

  • Simulation Environments
  • Visual Navigation
  • Rearrangement
  • Embodied Question Answering
  • Embodied Vision & Language

Accepted papers will be presented as posters or spotlight talks at the workshop. 

https://embodied-ai.org/#call-for-papers

Please send us what you've got! Just between you and me and the fencepost, if we get about 7+/-2 more submissions, we'll have enough to call it done for the year and won't need to extend the CFP, so we can get on with reviewing the papers and preparing for the workshop. So please submit!

-the Centaur

Pictured: the very nice logo for the Embodied AI Workshop, a joint effort of me, my co-organizer Claudia, and I think one of Midjourney or DALL-E. Yes, there's generative AI in there, but it took a good bit of prompting to get the core art, and lot of work in Photoshop after that to make it usable.

Embodied AI Workshop Call for Papers Still Open!

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Our call for papers is still open at https://embodied-ai.org/#call-for-papers through May 4th! We're particularly interested in two-page abstracts on the theme of the workshop:

  • Open-World AI for Embodied AI
  • Generative AI for Embodied AI
  • Embodied Mobile Manipulation
  • Language Model Planning

Submissions are accepted through May 4th AOE (Anywhere on Earth) at https://openreview.net/group?id=thecvf.com/CVPR/2024/Workshop/EAI#tab-recent-activity ...

-the Centaur

Announcing the 5th Annual Embodied AI Workshop

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Thank goodness! At last, I'm happy to announce the Fifth Annual Embodied AI Workshop, held this year in Seattle as part of CVPR 2024! This workshop brings together vision researchers and roboticists to explore how having a body affects the problems you need to solve with your mind.

This year's workshop theme is "Open-World Embodied AI" - embodied AI when you cannot fully specify the tasks or their targets at the start of your problem. We have three subthemes:

  • Embodied Mobile Manipulation: Going beyond our traditional manipulation and navigation challenges, this topic focuses on moving objects through space at the same time as moving yourself.
  • Generative AI for Embodied AI: Building datasets for embodied AI is challenging, but we've made a lot of progress using "synthetic" data to expand these datasets.
  • Language Model Planning: Lastly but not leastly, a topic near and dear to my heart: using large language models as a core technology for planning with robotic systems.

The workshop will have six speakers and presentations from six challenges, and perhaps a sponsor or two. Please come join us at CVPR, though we also plan to support hybrid attendance.

Presumably, the workshop location will look something like the above, so we hope to see you there!

-the Centaur

Pictured: the banner for EAI#5, partially done with generative AI guided by my colleague Claudia Perez D'Arpino and Photoshoppery done by me. Also, last year's workshop entrance.

[seventy-nine] minus ninety-two: it’s OVER

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After almost a year's worth of work, at last, the Fourth Annual Embodied Artificial Intelligence Workshop is OVER! I will go collapse now. Actually, it was over last night, and I actually did collapse, briefly, on the stairs leading up to my bedroom after the workshop was finally done. But don't worry, I was all right. I was just so relieved that it was good to finally, briefly, collapse. A full report on this tomorrow. Off to bed.

-the Centaur

Pictured: A rainbow that appeared in the sky just as the workshop was ending. Thanks, God!