Bitget App
Trade smarter
Coco Robotics appoints UCLA professor as head of its newly established physical AI research laboratory

Coco Robotics appoints UCLA professor as head of its newly established physical AI research laboratory

Bitget-RWA2025/10/14 22:06
By:Bitget-RWA

Coco Robotics, a company recognized for its last-mile delivery robots, is aiming to extract greater insights from the extensive data its machines have gathered over the past five years. To achieve this, the startup is launching a physical AI laboratory led by UCLA professor Bolei Zhou.

On Tuesday, Coco Robotics revealed that Zhou has also taken on the role of chief AI scientist at the Los Angeles-based company.

When the business began operations in 2020, it relied on remote operators to guide its robots through delivery route challenges. According to co-founder and CEO Zach Rash, the company’s vision has always been to fully automate its delivery robots to reduce delivery expenses. Rash now says that with the volume of data collected, they are ready to advance their automation efforts.

“We’ve accumulated millions of miles of data in some of the most complex city environments, and this information is crucial for developing robust and effective real-world AI,” Rash explained. “At this stage, we have enough data to significantly speed up research in the field of physical AI.”

Rash described the choice to have Zhou lead the initiative as obvious. He noted that Zhou’s expertise in computer vision and robotics has primarily centered on micromobility rather than larger vehicles.

Coco Robotics had already established a working relationship with Zhou. Both Rash and his co-founder Brad Squicciarini graduated from UCLA and even contributed one of their robots to the university’s research facilities.

“[Zhou] is among the top experts globally in robot navigation, reinforcement learning, and many other research areas that are very important to us,” Rash commented. “He’s already succeeded in attracting some of the world’s leading researchers he’s previously collaborated with to join Coco and help us move forward more quickly.”

This new AI lab is distinct from Coco Robotics’ partnership with OpenAI, which enables the startup to utilize OpenAI’s models while providing the research lab with access to data collected by the robots.

For now, Coco Robotics intends to use the insights and advancements from the lab internally. Rash mentioned that there are currently no intentions to sell this data to other companies in the industry.

Instead, the company will leverage the findings to enhance its own automation and operational efficiency, particularly focusing on the local models powering its robots. Rash added that they also plan to share relevant research outcomes with the cities in which they operate, aiming to address infrastructure and obstacles that hinder their robots’ performance.

“The ultimate goal for this lab is to deliver a much better service at a significantly reduced cost,” Rash stated. “How can we drive our expenses down? How do we make this service much more accessible for both businesses and consumers? Achieving this will greatly expand the ecosystem.”

0

Disclaimer: The content of this article solely reflects the author's opinion and does not represent the platform in any capacity. This article is not intended to serve as a reference for making investment decisions.

You may also like

Ripple Immunefi Attackathon Offers $200K to Strengthen XRPL

Quick Take Summary is AI generated, newsroom reviewed. Ripple partners with Immunefi to launch a $200,000 Attackathon. The event will test and strengthen the XRPL Lending Protocol. Participants will earn rewards for finding valid security flaws. The move shows Ripple’s growing focus on DeFi safety and transparency.References NEW: $XRP | Ripple partners with Immunefi to launch a $200K Attackathon to test and strengthen the proposed XRP Ledger Lending Protocol.

coinfomania2025/10/15 02:48

Elon Musk Endorses Bitcoin, Citing its Energy-Based Foundation

Musk Breaks Silence on Cryptocurrency, Endorses Bitcoin as Energy-Dependent Asset

Coineagle2025/10/14 23:48
Elon Musk Endorses Bitcoin, Citing its Energy-Based Foundation