Fall quarter as a frosh on the Farm, from Jenny Huynh’s POV. 🤳 #Stanford2027

Meet TidyBot, the robot that learns to clean your space just the way you like it 🤖 The one-armed helper uses a large language model (a type of AI similar to the one used in ChatGPT) trained on massive amounts of information from the internet to identify broad categories of objects like clothes, food, and toys, and then put things away according to individualized instructions. Of course, with an 85% success rate, TidyBot does make occasional mistakes – like when it spotted a visiting adviser during one of its demo runs. “He was visible in TidyBot’s ‘playing field,’” assistant professor Jeannette Bohg recalls, “and TidyBot tried to pick him up.” Luckily, it didn’t succeed: the team designed the robot mainly for handheld-sized objects or soft, deformable items like clothing. For now, TidyBot also struggles with difficult-to-grasp shapes, like a credit card lying flat on a table. But the researchers hope to improve robots’ abilities to replicate human strategies in scenarios like this – such as dragging the card to the table’s edge to pick it up. And they’d like to investigate whether multiple TidyBots could cooperate to accomplish bigger tasks like moving furniture or making a bed. They’d also like it to generalize across environments as well as across objects. “Maybe in the long term we can think about a more general-purpose robot that’s also able to cook my meal, make my bed, do my laundry,” assistant professor Shuran Song says. But for now, “If I have a robot that’s able to reliably put my things away, that’s a pretty good goal to achieve.” Story at the link in our bio. 🎥: @kurthickman

James Clark, ‘25, takes us behind the scenes of a game day on the Farm. 🏈 Check out @stanfordfball’s 2023 schedule at the link in our bio.

Jenny Martinez says 👋 as she begins her new role as Stanford’s 14th provost. Hear about her priorities, her love of @startrek, and more at the link in our bio. 🎥: @kurthickman

First day of fall quarter, in the books. 🤓 📸: Andrew @brodhead

Bringing a piece of their heritage to the Farm 🇼🇸🇦🇸 Stanford’s Special Language Program now includes a course in first-year Samoan, thanks to varsity athletes Brandy Atuatasi (@stanfordxctf) and Ari Patu (@stanfordfball). Here’s the story of how they made it happen.

One week and more than 4,500 new students. ✔️ 📸: @christuitephoto, @nikolasliepins, @ethographyphoto, @stanfordarts, and Alex Gillaspy

Introducing the Class of 2027 and Stanford’s 58 new transfer students 🤩🌲 📸: @kurthickman

Band Run, brought to you by @lsjumbofficial. #Stanford2027 🌲🎷💨 📸: @nikolasliepins / @ethographyphoto

Day in the life: Grace Soontornviwath, ‘25 🫀 Follow along as the Stanford junior takes us behind the scenes with the Bio-X Undergraduate Summer Research Program, from morning runs, to meals with friends, to the development of benchtop heart models. 🎥: Harry Gregory

Highlights from Stanford’s 133rd Convocation ceremony 🎥: @kurthickman and Harry Gregory

“Pursue your own personal path to goals that you find rewarding,” President Richard Saller told new students gathered in Frost Amphitheater on Tuesday for Stanford’s 133rd Convocation ceremony. “Don’t let others define your hopes and dreams.” Some 1,705 first-year undergraduate and 58 transfer students are joining the Stanford family this fall, hailing from 49 states and 76 countries and speaking 88 languages in addition to English. Twenty-one percent of them are among the first in their families to attend a four-year university. Story at the link in our bio. 📸: Don Feria