A robot created by Columbia Engineers learns to understand itself rather than the environment around it. Our perception of our bodies is not always correct or realistic, as any athlete or fashion-conscious person knows, but it's a crucial factor in how we behave in society. Your brain is continuous
An artist’s concept of a robot learning to imagine itself.
Our perception of our bodies is not always correct or realistic, as any athlete or fashion-conscious person knows, but it’s a crucial factor in how we behave in society. Your brain is continuously preparing for movement while you play ball or get dressed so that you can move your body without bumping, tripping, or falling.Columbia Engineering
A robot can learn full-body morphology via visual self-modeling to adapt to multiple motion planning and control tasks. Credit: Jane Nisselson and Yinuo Qin/ Columbia EngineeringThe researchers placed a robotic arm within a circle of five streaming video cameras. The robot watched itself through the cameras as it undulated freely.
The ability of robots to model themselves without being assisted by engineers is important for many reasons: Not only does it save labor, but it also allows the robot to keep up with its own wear-and-tear, and even detect and compensate for damage. The authors argue that this ability is important as we need autonomous systems to be more self-reliant. A factory robot, for instance, could detect that something isn’t moving right, and compensate or call for assistance.