Robotics' ChatGPT Moment Hinges on Open Source, Says NUS Researcher
chris_j_paxton · x · 2026-07-30
In a recent interview, Jiafei, a researcher at NUS and ASTAR, emphasized that the "ChatGPT moment" for robotics will not come from closed-door development but rather from a foundation of open-source tools, datasets, and model architectures.
Highlighting his own hacker roots, Jiafei shared that he built his first mobile manipulator at 16 using PVC pipes, toy cars, and Arduino. He currently focuses on developing open-source Vision-Language-Action (VLA) models like MolmoAct to foster a collaborative embodied AI ecosystem.
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