Teaching a robot how to do something is usually done by either programming it to perform a specific task, or demonstrating that task for the robot to observe and imitate. The latter method, however, so far hasn't been accurate enough for robots to be able to transfer their knowledge to other robots.
That's changing, however, thanks to researchers from MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) and a their new teaching method, called C-LEARN. That could have far-reaching consequences by making it easier for non-programmers to teach robots how to perform certain tasks. Even better, it allows robots to teach other robots how to perform the same tasks.
SEE ALSO:Google-backed exhibit shows robots just want to be friends. They promise.The system does this by giving the robot a knowledge base with information on how to reach and grab different objects. Then, using a 3D interface, the robot is shown a single demo on how to, say, pick up a cylinder or open a door. The task is divided into important moments called "keyframes" -- steps that robot needs to take in order to correctly perform the task.
The test bed for C-LEARN is a small, two-armed bomb-disposal robot called Optimus. Once Optimus learns how to perform a task, it can transfer that knowledge to Atlas, a six-foot-tall, 400-pound robot (we wrote about Atlas several times in the past, here and here).
“By combining the intuitiveness of learning from demonstration with the precision of motion-planning algorithms, this approach can help robots do new types of tasks that they haven’t been able to learn before, like multi-step assembly using both of their arms,” Claudia Pérez-D’Arpino, a PhD student who wrote a paper on C-LEARN together with MIT professor Julie Shah, said in a statement.
The approach, D'Arpino claims, is similar to how humans learn -- they take what they already know and tie that information to a demonstration of how something is done. “We can’t magically learn from a single demonstration, so we take new information and match it to previous knowledge about our environment," she said.
Credit: MIT, CSAILAnd that's the point -- teaching robots in a similar way we teach humans to do things would make the process faster and easier. Right now, the C-LEARN method can't handle certain problems, including avoiding collisions, but the team hopes that the system can be further advanced by implementing more human-like learning capabilities.
TopicsRobotics
(责任编辑：綜合)
Samsung Galaxy Note7 teardown reveals the magic behind the phone's iris scanner
Badass women in Iran share why they're ignoring a new fatwa against cyclingBadass women in Iran share why they're ignoring a new fatwa against cycling
Twitter update shows how fast companies respond to your complaintsThese glasses hide a fitness tracker on your faceSamsung Galaxy Note7 teardown reveals the magic behind the phone's iris scanner
Samsung's Galaxy Note7 is touted by many reviewers as one of the best, if not the best, smartphones
...[详细]Sweet little princess is terrified of Donald Trump
Meeting a presidential candidate is the opportunity of a lifetime -- unless you're the Princess of F
...[详细]Nothing to see here, just a tiger strolling along an Australian beach
Imagine it -- hitting the beach in Queensland, Australia for a quick surf, only to come across a fre
...[详细]Man airdrops all iPhone 7 demo photos from an Apple Store and here they are
Remember all those beautiful photos taken on the iPhone 7 and the iPhone 7 Plus that Apple showed du
...[详细]Make money or go to Stanford? Katie Ledecky is left with an unfair choice.
This is Katie Ledecky's world right now, and the rest of us are just living in it. Want proof? Ledec
...[详细]Badass women in Iran share why they're ignoring a new fatwa against cycling
Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, issued a fatwa on women riding bicycles Monday, but t
...[详细]
An Iranian para-cyclist died Saturday after a crash during a race at the Rio Paralympics. Bahman Gol
...[详细]Samsung hit with lawsuit over exploding Galaxy Note7, report says
The reports of exploding Samsung Galaxy Note7 smartphones have resulted in a massive recall. But for
...[详细]Photos show the Blue Cut fire blazing a path of destruction in California
A fast moving wildfire continued raging near San Bernadino, California, forcing the evacuation of at
...[详细]Goa chief minister joins everybody else in giving Indians a free mobile connection
Call it a last minute election stunt, or a pure marketing scheme, but several major forces in India
...[详细]Australian football makes history with first LGBT Pride Game
The top 'Smash' players are gathering at Smash Summit 3 in November
