July 04 2008 / by juldrich
Category: Business & Work Year: General Rating: 4 Hot
By Jack Uldrich
Cross-posted from www.jumpthecurve.net
Last week, I explained how humans might soon be learning things from
robots. 
Today, I’d like to explain why robots might become a more
integral part of our lives faster than most people expect.
Yesterday, Technology Review published an interesting article
entitled: “Robots Learns to Use Tools.” What
is really intriguing about the article, which describes a new robot
called the UMass Mobile Manipulator or
UMan for short, is that the robot is employing sophisticated
algorithms to teach itself how to deal with unfamiliar objects.
One of the major barriers to date with robotics is that
programmers have had to write complicated software code to help
robots deal with almost every contingency that it might encounter.
For example, for a household robot to be effective, it needs to
recognize every item that might conceivably be in someone house –
everything from a pair of scissors to a flower vase. This is no
easy chore.
In the near future, however, robots need not necessarily know
how to handle every object; they merely need to learn how to deal
with that object in an appropriate fashion. Using the scissors as
example, UMan can study the device and then can tinker with the
blades until it understands how they are connected and how the
object operates. Presumably, the robot will then know that it would
be inappropriate to “run with scissors.” (cont.)
The implications of self-learning robots could be quite profound
– especially if they can learn faster than humans. For instance, if
they can recognize and learn how things operate, they might be
finally able to practical household servants – ala Rosie the Robot
in the Jetson’s. They could also become more practical instruments
in the agricultural industry if they can determine between which
fruit or vegetable is ready to be picked or whether it needs to
stay on the vine a little longer. Similarly, robots will become
more effective warriors in battlefield situations if they can
rapidly adapt to the enemy’s changing behavior; and there is no
reason why they can’t soon be used in a variety of other fields,
including the construction industry and the health care industry.
Interested in some other future-related posts about robots?
Check out these recent posts:
Learn from Robots
Meet Your
Future, Shape-Shiting Robotic Butler
Hospitals Robotic Future
Will Robots Have Tails?
Is the Future of an
ATV a Robot
The Robot Will See You
Now
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