Physical artificial intelligence has emerged as the next wave of AI, and colleges and universities are exploring how to incorporate autonomous machines into their work and studies. Universities are experimenting with physical AI in various industries, from healthcare to retail, and training students to join those fields.

Today’s physical AI allows organizations to automate physical work and perform complex tasks. These robots can manipulate objects, like on a conveyer belt, and perform surgical tasks such as threading needles and performing stitches. Humanoid robots are general-purpose robots that require fine motor skills and the ability to interact with the physical world.

“Physical AI is really the convergence of AI algorithms (the brain) and physical hardware (the body) and enabling that robot or a machine to reason, perceive and act in the real world,” says Ronak Shah, senior manager of higher education and research at NVIDIA.

The previous generation of robots performed repetitive motions in warehouses.  Now robots learn new skills through trial and error, which is too risky for physical hardware. We use reinforcement learning in high-fidelity simulations, allowing an AI to practice a task millions of times and prepare for real-world unpredictability, Shah says.

DIG DEEPER: Find out how NVIDIA can help colleges take AI integration to the next level.