Microsoft Reactor offers a global platform for learning, connecting, and building through various events, training sessions, and resources focused on emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics. Microsoft Reactor is beneficial for robotics as it provides resources that help developers learn how to code a robot and engage in robot kit programming. This includes training on robotic process automation (RPA), which allows robots to automate repetitive tasks efficiently, thereby improving productivity and reducing human error in robotics applications.
On October 30th 2024, Ömer Çolakoğlu led a Microsoft Reactor session and presented a live demonstration of a fascinating combination Azure AI with Petoi Bittle open source robot dog kit. The results were astounding! In this article, we'll take a look at some of the amazing strides being made in the field of autonomous robotics by combining AI & LLM's with Petoi's smart robots! The interactive session was hosted on Microsoft Reactors YouTube channel and involved a brilliant live presentation of Ömer's research as he showcased how to program & interact with a smart Bittle DIY robot with AI-enabled in it!
But what does AI-enabled even mean? While most robots claim to be "AI-driven" or "AI-enabled", Ömer showcased how Petoi users can truly benefit from the versatility of our open-source robots by training and enabling GPT 4.0 right into Bittle! This opened the floodgates of intelligent conversation and completely changed how users can interact with the open-source robot.
Live viewers watched and commented in awe as they saw the exceptional Ömer go over slide by slide as he first presented an introduction to AI robotics and then soon transitioned to how he created his JSON code which he patched by some brilliant prompting on Azure OpenAI's platform. He explained how even 10-year-olds can program these pets with Petoi block-based coding. While Ömer shared his screen, he answered viewers' comments from time to time. Ömer discussed the goal of a person normally chatting with Bittle and why an intelligence system was needed. A custom data set was created and fed to ChatGPT or Azure OpenAI. He also compared using ChatGPT to Azure OpenAI while carefully weighing the pros and cons of each.
Petoi's smart robots are open source platforms for training smart AI robot pets with fun interaction. Once trained with AI capability, Bittle has even more personality as it talks back and performs tricks and tips when spoken to. Mind you: these are not just commands. For instance: Omer asks Bittle to moonwalk and dance. Bittle can be trained to have an intelligent conversation, where Bittle understands what is being spoken and then reacts naturally! For example: Bittle is asked if it knows who Michael Jackson or Mike Tyson is, it responds and then also does a Moonwalk dance or Boxing routine respectively!
The session was a power-packed hour where Ömer dived into the power of integrating Azure AI with text-to-speech and LLM modules with Bittle to unlock a new level of fun and learning. You can watch the full session below!
The event concluded with a live Q&A session where participants from all around the world asked Ömer some thought-provoking questions:
- Can you make your own movements for Bittle? Yes: The open source nature of the robot means you can make your own movements.
- Where to find the hardware to try their own hands at a robot project like this? You can learn more Bittle open source robot kit
As always, we thank Ömer for his fantastic work and research with Petoi and wish him all the very best for his next project!
PS. Ömer mentioned that he is working on programming two Bittles with AI so they can interact with each other! So stay tuned to know more!
If you'd like to read more about projects from Omer (like how he created an AI robot dog with ChatGPT), click on the image below!
