RobTalk

How Robots Turn Language into Motion: The AI Stack Behind Physical AI

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How do robots go from human instruction to real movement?

Telling a robot to “pick up a box” sounds simple.

But behind that command is a complex chain of decisions: understanding language, interpreting the environment, choosing the right action and turning it into physical movement.

In this episode, Clemens (Principal Engineer) and Robert (Robotics Engineer & Researcher) explain how RobCo approaches this challenge with ALFIE - combining classical robotics, AI models, sensors, safety systems and real-world industrial requirements.

You'll gain insights into:

  • the three-layer hierarchy (System 2 / System 1 / System 0) that turns language into motor currents
  • why physical grounding is the hardest unsolved problem in robotics today
  • how 100-200 demonstrations are enough to fine-tune Alfie on a new use case
  • why methods that brought man to the moon are now central to physical AI

    • More about RobCo:

    Website:https://www.rob.co
    LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/robco-therobotcompany/
    Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/robco_therobotcompany/

    Chapter markers

    00:00 Controlling robots with language
    00:32 Meet Clemens and Robert
    02:22 System 2, 1, 0: How robots think
    04:35 The driving analogy explained
    06:28 What's the hardest part of the chain?
    07:15 Translating language into robot action
    08:43 What really happens when you say "pick up the glass"
    11:04 Why neural nets find their own language
    15:21 Introducing Alfie
    21:09 Pre-training + fine-tuning a robot
    24:49 How commands become motor currents
    28:31 Top 3 questions from Hannover Messe
    35:04 The funniest moment at the trade fair
    38:02 What makes Alfie different
    40:28 World models: The next big unlock?

    ...more
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