Robot dreams are helping them to learn like humans
Dreaming robots can classify information they have learnt and work out the best way to solve problems they faced during that day –
and it’s helping them to learn more like we do.
A good night’s sleep is about more than just getting rest – while we dream, our unconscious minds process events from the day. That could mean putting an emotional experience into the context of past memories, or perhaps imagining a solution to something which puzzled us during the day.
But what about robots? While they can’t fantasize about flying around the neighbourhood, a group of scientists is working to give them the same ability to make sense of observations during their nightly down-time.
At the EU-funded RobDREAM project in Augsburg, Germany, scientists from industrial robot-maker KUKA and other partners are working to give robots ‘dreaming’ powers. In other words, they plan to use robots’ processing power while they sit idle to sift through all of the data they collect during their work hours.
The team is working with mobile industrial robots that are capable of operating side-by-side with humans. That daily interaction yields a lot of data. Robots store high-definition visual imagery from the systems they use to navigate around the factory floor and handle objects.
‘It’s basically the same as dreaming in humans.’
<blockquote>Dr Daniel Braun, KUKA Roboter GmbH, Germany</blockquote>
They also collect data about their own movements with laser sensors and record how they move a seven-jointed arm, noting the arm’s position and how much force is applied. When all the data is collected, the robots are ready for a snooze
more at the link.
http://horizon-magazine.eu/article/robot-dreams-are-helping-them-learn-humans_en.html
