Hugging Face, renowned for its widely-used open source machine learning platform and rival to ChatGPT, is embarking on a groundbreaking venture by delving into robotics with the launch of an open robotics initiative.

Former Tesla staff scientist Remi Cadene, announcing the ambitious expansion on X, revealed his move to Hugging Face to spearhead the open robotics project, emphasizing its commitment to open source principles. Cadene clarified that the project would be "open-source, not as in Open AI," alluding to OpenAI's legal disputes.

Heading the robotics endeavor, Cadene disclosed Hugging Face's recruitment drive for robotics engineers in Paris, France. Job descriptions, such as that of an "Embodied Robotics Engineer," shed light on the project's objectives, which include developing open-source and cost-effective robotic systems integrating AI technologies, particularly deep learning and embodied AI.

The role entails collaboration with ML engineers, researchers, and product teams to pioneer innovative robotics solutions, pushing the boundaries of AI and robotics. Responsibilities span from constructing affordable robots using readily available components and 3D-printed parts to incorporating deep learning and embodied AI into robotic systems.

While Hugging Face has primarily focused on software solutions such as its machine learning codebase and open-source chatbot, the foray into robotics represents a significant shift towards hardware, aiming to democratize AI by making open and affordable robotic platforms accessible.