Sanctuary AI, a Vancouver-based robotics company, today unveiled the 7th generation of its flagship Phoenix humanoid robot, claiming it brings the company significantly closer to creating the world's first artificial general intelligence (AGI) in a general-purpose robot.

This rapid iteration cycle, with the 6th gen Phoenix launching just 11 months ago and the 5th gen being commercially deployed only 16 months prior in January 2023, highlights Sanctuary's urgency in pushing the boundaries of robotics and AI.

The 7th gen Phoenix recently completed a week-long pilot deployment at a Mark's retail store in Langley, British Columbia. During this trial, the robot successfully carried out 110 different retail-related tasks, showcasing its versatility and general capabilities according to Sanctuary.

"It's incredible to see the progress that has been made in just 11 months," stated Geordie Rose, Sanctuary AI's co-founder and CEO. "With Generation 7, we have a system that we believe is the most closely analogous to a person of any available robotics platform."

Rose emphasized the company sees the Phoenix not just as the cornerstone of general-purpose AI robotics, but as a critical step on the path to achieving the long-sought goal of artificial general intelligence (AGI) - an AI system with human-level intelligence across domains. "We're thrilled to be leading the charge on it," he added.

Sanctuary AI touts the 7th gen Phoenix's exceptional ability to capture high-quality human behavioral data, providing its "Carbon" AI control system with an unprecedented training dataset. "This all adds up to being able to capture increasing quantities of higher-quality, higher-fidelity human behavioral data, which in turn will expedite the development of foundational AI models and customer deployments," Rose stated.

Key Upgrades in Phoenix 7th Gen

Some of the major upgrades Sanctuary AI has made to the 7th generation Phoenix include:

• Increased uptime for more training time
• Faster build and commissioning to bring more units online rapidly
• Lower manufacturing costs through reduced bill of materials
• Greater range of motion and durability in wrists, hands, and elbows
• Further miniaturization of hydraulics for reduced weight, power, and complexity
• Improved visual acuity and tactile sensing for higher data fidelity
• Drastically faster task automation - going from weeks to under 24 hours

Supporting its AGI ambitions, Sanctuary has also been actively expanding its IP portfolio. In December 2023, the company acquired assets from Giant.AI and Tangible Research, adding grasping technologies like visual servoing, real-time grasp simulation, and visuo-haptic mapping to its patent portfolio.

To support ramping up Phoenix production and deployment, Sanctuary recently announced a strategic partnership with automotive manufacturing giant Magna International. The deal will see Magna's factories equipped with Sanctuary's general-purpose robots, while Magna will contract manufacture the Phoenix going forward.

With each rapid iteration, Sanctuary AI is making boldstrides towards its vision of creating human-level artificial general intelligence through advanced humanoid robotics. As Rose claims, the company believes the 7th generation Phoenix is the closest any system has come to reaching technological singularity. The race to AGI is heating up.