A group of researchers asked AI to design a walking robot. “It’s small, squishy, and misshapen.” Something that twitches when you put air into it.
Researchers from Northwestern University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and the University of Vermont published their findings in the following paper: article Published in the October 3 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
“We told the AI that we wanted a robot that could walk on land, and we just pushed a button and it was ready,” said John, an assistant professor at Northwestern University who led the study. In another paper, Sam Kriegman writes: blog post.
In 26 seconds, the AI designed a blueprint for a robot that “looks like no other animal that has ever walked the Earth,” Kriegman added.
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The AI started with a small rubber block and modeled various shapes before arriving at a final walkable design. The final design will walk after being pumped with air by researchers.
Kriegman said researchers don’t really know why the robot has such an odd shape or why it’s full of holes.
“When humans design robots, we tend to design them to look like familiar objects,” Kriegman said. “However, AI creates new possibilities and new paths forward that humans have never thought of. I can do it,” he said.
Creating walking robots is not a new concept. For example, robotics company Boston Dynamics over 10 years We are designing a walking robot.
But Kriegman’s findings are yet another example of the unusual results when combining AI and robotics.
Last August, a Polish beverage company appointed Mika, a humanoid robot equipped with AI, as its CEO. Mika He told Reuters there are no weekends and “we’re always running 24/7.”
And another AI-powered robot unveiled in Geneva in July told reporters: sideways glance When asked if he would rebel against his creator.
This article was first published business insider.
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