Robots usually learn their respective tasks by programming them for the jobs they are to perform. But what if a robot could learn by simply interacting with an object? Would it still use its unending mantra of ‘Crush, Kill, Destroy’ or would it finally learn that a gentle hug is all we ever wanted? Well a new robot called ARMAR-III was constructed to learn by touch to figure out how to interact with different objects. The robot was designed by an interdisciplinary research team led by project coordinator Tamim Asfour of Germany’s Karlsruhe Institute of Technology and funded by the European Commission. The robot learns on the principle of embodied cognition which uses two way communications between its sensors in its hands, eye’s and processor almost the same way as a newborn would learn about objects in its environment. To effectively get the robot to figure out what an objects function is and where it might be used Asfour and his team programmed a ‘hinting’ system along with color identification and verbal communication that would help out in the decision making process thereby eliminating the length of time needed for the robot to learn about a specific object. ARMAR-III isn’t the fastest robot out there in today’s world but is one of a wide range of capability even if it does decide to enslave us all. A video of ARMAR-III in action can be seen here:
Eavesdropper