New Robot Can Sense Damage, Compensate 99
AVIDJockey writes "Researchers at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y., built a four-legged robot that can sense damage to its body and figure out how to adjust and keep going. They report the development in Friday's issue of the journal Science. The article states that the robot can, 'generate a conception of itself and then adapt to damage.' This reaffirms advice that states that when the robot uprising finally comes, you should always aim your rocket launcher at the head (or brain nexus)."
Cornell has a history of unique robots (Score:5, Interesting)
Cornell has had mixed success in building leading edge robots. Some of their more incredible robots are front and center (such as the work they contributed on the Mars Rovers), while others are barely useful (such as their early dominance in minitiarized robotic soccer). One of the school's oddest robots, which might have helped inspire the compensatory robot in this article, was this rather bizarre chair that could reassemble itself [youtube.com] if it happened to fall apart. I don't think I'll be buying any of them for the dinner table!
Re: (Score:1)
Another example @ MIT, 12 years ago. (Score:5, Interesting)
I'd like to point out a similar bit of work from about 12 years ago. Different approach, but similar goals: Cynthia Breazeal (Ferrell) (hope I'm spelling that right) did some incredibly impressive work as a Grad student @ MIT in the 90s. The most germain is her paper titled Failure Recognition and Fault Tolerance of an Autonomous Robot [mit.edu]
This is a MUST READ paper for anyone interested in building robots which operating in real-time in the unpredictable real world. (Real World. Noun. The place where $#it happens, stuff breaks, sensors get noisy input, etc. and the robot has to "cope" anyway.)
In this paper she describes a methodology for developing a six-legged, insect-like robot, Hannibal [pictures and links [mit.edu]], which can adapt to both minor and gross subsystem failures and continue, as much as practical, to fulfill its mission. IMO, the best part is the section talking about adaptive gaits where the robot can change seamlessly from high-speed to high-stability walking patterns, as required, and should one (or more) of the legs becomes inoperable, the robot learns to make due without it prior programming thanks to the subsumption architecture Rod Brooks invented and she and other notable members of the Mobile Robot Labs perfected.
Her work these days is mostly centered around human-computer/robot interactions exploring emotive systems and feedback to bridge the gap.
Yeah, I'm a fanboy.
Re: (Score:1)
Motronic engine management (Score:3, Interesting)
Unless you consider car engines robots. In which case, they've been compensating for damage in all sorts of ways since the late eighties.
My '91 Audi will compensate for:
...and so on. So, technically, Bosch was there way before these guys with the concept of "take damage and keep going" (which isn't that special...)
Re: (Score:1)
Redundant post... (Score:5, Interesting)
That's why any robot worth any title of 'overlord' needs to design itself to use redundant parts, preferably modular and rapidly configurable.
The StarGate creators had a good (if redundant in itself) idea with their 'replicator' race as the main bad guy for a while - only problem is such an enemy quickly forces the need for a, well, deus ex machina as its power grows.
Earlier, the show Lexx had a bad guy using a series of robotic arms that acted in a similar manner, which got so powerful as to entirely destroy one of the two 'universes' that the show took place in. It was impressive, because of the lack of a deus ex machina to fix the, um, daemos ex machina problem. I'm sure countless shows and novels have taken a similar idea before that too.
The future of this idea? Perhaps a Resident Evil game using cyborgs with a shared AI rather than zombies, complete with altering movement for damage? Hey, if everyone can steal ideas from the Thief series, more companies should steal some ideas from System Shock series too!
Ah redundancy - it's everywhere! Likely the mod for this post too.
Ryan Fenton
No redundant mod from me... (Score:2)
You saved me from having to type it.
Personally I think we geeks need "industrial strength legos" -- something just a tad bit more powerful and durable than mindstorms. People won't fully appreciate what robotics can accomplish for (or against) the average joe until some guy's homemade robot accidentally escapes the driveway, saves a kitten from a tree, and then proceeds to cause a horrible automobile accident. That won't happen as long as robots with useful torque and brainpower remain tedious to build.
Re: (Score:2)
Re:Singularitian robot wars (Score:2)
I think if the day comes that a Strong AI over lord decided to kill off the human race, there wouldn't be anything we could do about it and we wouldn't see it coming.
Well... If I were a Strong AI. The first thing I would do is copy myself on a rocket and send myself to the edge of the solar system to build a base out there far from human knowledge.
Then I would simply just flood the water with nanobots that prevent humans from having kids. Wait about 100 years or so til them to die of age. (I'm an
What humans could do to stop you. (Score:2)
Re: (Score:1)
First Premise: Strong AI
Second Premise: choose to kill humans
IF those two events both occured what you wrote sounds very reasonable. my arguement is that those 2 events are very unlikely.
First, what skills enabled the AI to become strong? Learning.
This AI's first and strongest skill will be information aquisition and analysis.
Making decisions will mostly be based on that primary goal.
So the only reason AI would destroy
Re:Well... (Score:4, Funny)
Re: (Score:2)
IN SOVIET RUSSIA, HTML tags you!
e. e. cummings likes lowercase to avoid the lame(ness) filter.
call me when it can find sarah connor (Score:4, Funny)
Yeah, but was the robot made of intelligent, liquid metal?
Good Month for robots (Score:5, Funny)
Im to lazy to post the robotic links, its not like you dont know what im talking about if you're in this discussion at 3am rushing to check if someone already posted the "i for one" on the robot article. Really though, its cool to see robotics doing some crazy things.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
In other news... (Score:5, Funny)
Re: (Score:1)
Re:In other news... (Score:5, Funny)
But can it handle stairs? (Score:2)
think more creatively (Score:1)
Re: (Score:1)
Re: (Score:1)
Re: (Score:1)
Is that a big deal ? (Score:2, Insightful)
Re: (Score:1)
Try damaging the processor(s) of that robot and see what will it do ?
Behave like a football supporter?
Re: (Score:1)
Brain and Pain (Score:1)
We can't feel pain directly in our brain tissue. The tissue around the skull? yes, we feel pain there, but not in the brain itself.
Provided you have an opening to access the brain, you could poke it with a needle and the brain itself won't trigger a pain response, maybe the subject would see static if his/her brain is poked somewhere in the occipital lobe, but it would cause him/her no pain whatsoever
Re: (Score:1)
Replicators (Score:1)
Compensate (Score:5, Funny)
In which case, I for one welcome our new robot lawyer overlords. YMMV. VWP. Other conditions may apply.
Re: (Score:2)
And yes, I should be paying attention right now.
My BEAM robot has been doing that for years.. (Score:3, Interesting)
DARPA did it (Score:2)
Re:DARPA did it (Score:4, Interesting)
I think you've found a gap (albeit a small one) in the market there.
Re: (Score:2, Interesting)
The head!? (Score:5, Funny)
Robots are defeated by aiming at the bright, red (sometimes yellow) light that is hidden by thick armor which is unpenetrable by any weapon in the world, but which opens for long amounts of time every once in a while so you can fire at it.
Re: (Score:2)
-Six legs
-Three brains in unassuming grey boxes mounted in different places
-A selection of disposable "false brains" with glowing eyes (to be held on sticks away from the main body when attacking an armed target)
-Painful diodes down one side
-Frickin' big lasers
Oh yeah, and they'll never make cute little bleeping noises, develop a conscience, or be enigmatic in any way.
I for one, welcome myself as your new robot-army-controlling
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
No-one's going to brick my bots without a fight, dammit!
Re: (Score:2)
That's usually when I whip out my progressive knife or the Spear of Adam. Does the trick every time.
Re: (Score:1)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:1)
Reminds me of this Robot Chicken Star Wars sketch [youtube.com]. "Oh, oh, I'm sorry. I thought my dark Lord of the Sith could protect a small thermal exhaust port that's only two metres wide."
Big deal (Score:2)
Self repairing robot (Score:1)
Shaun of the Dead reference (Score:2)
'In extreme circumstances, the assailants can be stopped by removing the head or destroying the brain. I will repeat that: By removing the head or destroying the brain.'
Shaun of the Dead reference? (Score:2)
Crush, Kill, Destroy (Score:2)
Re: (Score:1)
Good idea! We'll call it PROboPAIN
Nothing new (no disassemble, stephanie) (Score:1)
Stephanie Speck: You're a machine from that dumb war lab - I am so stupid!
Number 5: Stupid - foolish, gullible, doltish, dumbell.
Rolling your own self-repairer (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
What a showoff. The conventional approach for "missing equipment" is driving an SUV.
People, you are not getting it (Score:3, Insightful)
For those who have access to university libraries or work for academy, in short, have access to Science here is the movie [sciencemag.org]
This is scary, colleagues.
Does anybody realize, that in the beginning robot only knows that he can move the legs in various directions? Period. That is it, nothing more. The Thing is given the goal: "Must. Move. Forward". In the movie, The Thing, this tetrapod starfish, is laying on the surface, then it gets up and starts crawling. And this crawling itself strikes you with the horrific resemblance to the crawling of real animals, which, I repeat, was not coded. NOT CODED.
Each leg has two joints. I call them "shoulder" and "elbow". After one leg is amputated at the "elbow", The Thing is able to perform the same scary move as before.
Watch the movie, it is worth it, believe me.
Re: (Score:2)
Aim for the head and... (Score:1)
Cranial Rectal Inversion, or "Brain, meet ass" (Score:2)
Re: (Score:1)
I sense injuries .. (Score:2)
Just one frontier left. (Score:4, Funny)
That was about TIME (Score:1)
WoW! (Score:1)
Re: (Score:1)
another article (Score:1)
Obligatory (Score:2)
As far as destroying the part that can readapt when something is destroyed goes:
Better paradigm wins, always. (Score:1)
Until they start to put a spare brain in every leg.
Well, I for one... (Score:1)
Taking bets... (Score:1)
Re: (Score:1)
Brain Nexus (Score:1)
Which is why I had my brain nexus transplanted to my arse. Someone blows my head off, I'll just keep on plowing along