Understudy
Sentence-to-robot-policy pipeline
1st place · Runway API Hackathon (Sept 2026) · $10,000 prize
Understudy makes robot training data from one sentence. You type a task, Runway generates video of the robot doing it, and physics checks throw out the bad clips.
SmolVLA trains on the clips that pass. In simulation, the policy trained on generated video scored 43 of 50, against 44 of 50 for perfect scripted demos.
Understudy won 1st place and a $10,000 prize at the Runway API Hackathon in September 2026.
Python · Runway API · SmolVLA · LeRobot · MuJoCo