Using a combination of AI, sensors and fine-tuned motor skills, the robot can interact with its surroundings in more human-like ways than ever before, researchers at Edinburgh University said, adding that the breakthrough could transform robots’ ability to carry out tasks that previously could only be done by people. Their findings are detailed in Nature Machine Intelligence.
Robots in factories and on production lines perform pre-programmed actions and responses but lack the ability to adapt to unforeseen obstacles in real-time, the researchers said.
To counter these limitations, the Edinburgh team combined advances in sensitive motor skills and AI to create a robot that can interact capably with objects and people in challenging settings. Previous developments in these areas had taken place largely independent of each other, the team said.
The new device is a Kinova robotic arm with seven movable joints that interprets verbal instructions and then analyses its surroundings.
Next, it searches the kitchen to find a mug by working out how to access drawers with opening mechanisms it has never encountered before. The robot then measures and mixes a set ratio of ground coffee from a jar with water from a kettle.
The technology behind the robot enables it to adapt to unforeseen events, such as if someone bumps or moves the mug unexpectedly while it is working, the team said. The robot is also capable of providing sound output, explaining what it will do when faced with more than one request to do something.
The research was supported by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and led by Ruaridh Mon-Williams, a PhD student jointly at Edinburgh University’s School of Informatics, MIT, and Princeton University.
“We are glimpsing a future where robots with increasingly advanced intelligence become commonplace,” Mon-Williams said in a statement. “Human intelligence stems from the integration of reasoning, movement and perception, yet AI and robotics have often advanced separately. Our work demonstrates the power of combining these approaches and underscores the growing need to discuss their societal implications.”
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