Skynet Gets a Toolbox

 

So taking the definition of machine learning to a new level this new robot is able use tools.  More impressive the robot is able to actually fashion the tools it needs to complete tasks.

The best and only quote you need to know from this new project:

“Our goal is to develop a robot that behaves like MacGyver, the television character from the 1980s who solved complex problems and escaped dangerous situations by using everyday objects and materials he found at hand,” said Stilman, an assistant professor in the School of Interactive Computing at Georgia Tech. “We want to understand the basic cognitive processes that allow humans to take advantage of arbitrary objects in their environments as tools. We will achieve this by designing algorithms for robots that make tasks that are impossible for a robot alone possible for a robot with tools.”

So the artificial intelligence of robots is set to advance considerably in the near future. Robots will no longer be doing simple tasks at the request of users, but able to think out side the box and achieve tasks using resources around them.

If that isn’t enough you can watch a couple of hipsters talk about how they would use a MacGyver bot presumably before it gets infected by Skynet and starts using household objects against them.

John Connor watch your back.

 

Check out the Full Georgia Tech Press Release on their new $900,000 Grant.