Sanctuary has set itself the ambitious task of developing human-like intelligence in general-purpose robots, intending to complement the human labor market - and eventually helping humans settle in outer space. Its robots are modelled on the size and shape of humans, and their cognitive architecture is based on the subsystems of the human brain. The hope is that this puts the so-far elusive artificial general intelligence (AGI) in closer reach.
It’s a challenging mission, but the Sanctuary team have remarkable expertise and experience. Before Sanctuary, the founders launched deep tech robotics company Kindred with backing from the likes of Google and Bloomberg Beta. Whilst it was eventually bought out by Ocado, Sanctuary was designed to pick up where Kindred’s early research left off.
Some critics suggest that Sanctuary’s technology isn’t anything new - just yet. Nor has any company promising AGI (including Tesla) offered up material results. There’s also some question as to whether AGI, technologically glamorous though it may be, is better than highly specialised systems. If it can be done, however, there’s no doubt it’ll prove a remarkable deep-tech breakthrough.
Kirsty
Company Specialist at Welcome to the Jungle