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by fini

Nano Contestants at RoboCup

16:41 in A.I., Hardware, Robotics by fini

Say hello to RoboCup’s tiny competitors, the NanoCup!

“A total of five teams from North America and Switzerland built microscopic competitors that were around “six times smaller than an amoeba and weighed no more than a few hundred nanograms.” The wee devices showed their stuff in the oh-so-fascinating Nano Cup soccer match, which had to be projected onto a screen in order for anyone to actually take a look at the action.”

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by fini

Making Robots More Human

15:03 in A.I., Hardware, Robotics by fini

Stumled upon this article that describes scientists moves to make robots more human. In my own Droids simulator I have also worked on a hide-and-seek simulation, since there are many human aspects to cover in that simple game.

George the robot is playing hide-and-seek with scientist Alan Schultz. George whirrs and hides behind a post until he’s found. Then a bit later, he hunts for and finds Schultz hiding.

If that sounds childish, consider that Schultz is working his way up to teaching the robot to play Capture the Flag.

What’s so impressive about robots playing children’s games? For a robot to actually find a place to hide, and then hunt for its human playmate is a new level of human interaction. The machine must take cues from people and behave accordingly.

This is the beginning of a real robot revolution: giving robots some humanity.