Mistral Introduces Robotics AI That Requires Only One Camera

Mistral introduced its first artificial intelligence model built for “embodied navigation,” or enabling robots to autonomously move through complex environments, according to a Tuesday (July 7) press release.

The new Robostral Navigate is an 8 billion-parameter (8B) model and uses a single standard color camera (RGB camera), the release said. It can follow plain-language instructions such as “Leave the lobby, walk through the corridor, enter the supply room, and stop to face the second shelf.”

“To perform such tasks, other models often employ depth sensors, LiDAR, or several cameras working together,” the release said. “Robostral Navigate uses only one ordinary RGB camera and no depth sensors, yet still achieves 76.6% on R2R-CE (room-to-room in continuous environments) validation unseen, the benchmark for following instructions in environments held out of training.”

The model enables robots to autonomously navigate offices, residential and commercial buildings, outdoor settings and other complex environments. It is likely to be used in manufacturing, delivery, logistics and hospitality, according to the release.

“Robostral Navigate is only the first step toward a unified embodied agent,” the release said. “We believe navigation is a foundational capability for general-purpose robotics. By combining large-scale simulation, efficient training and strong grounding priors, Robostral Navigate demonstrates that state-of-the-art embodied navigation can be achieved with a compact model and a single RGB camera.”

PYMNTS reported in March that physical AI and vertical AI startups are drawing investor attention as venture funding flows toward companies building systems designed to either operate in the physical world or automate specialized industry workflows.

The surge in investment is visible across startups building machines designed to perform complex physical tasks, and these capabilities are becoming more commercially viable due to advances in AI models that combine computer vision, reinforcement learning and real-time planning, according to the report.

It was reported in June that Mistral is in talks to raise about 3 billion euros (about $3.42 billion) at a valuation of about 20 billion euros (about $23 billion).

Mistral was valued at 11.7 billion euros (about $13.4 billion) in a September Series C funding round in which it raised 1.7 billion euros (about $1.9 billion) and said it would use the new funding to fuel its scientific research.

For all PYMNTS AI coverage, subscribe to the daily AI Newsletter.