Oh, Baby! ONR Research Links Child's Play to Robot Learning - MilitarySpot.com

A team of researchers led by Rajesh Rao, a professor of computer science and engineering at the University of Washington, recently published a paper showing how robots can learn much like children – amassing data by watching adults do something, determining the goal of the action and then deciding how to perform it on their own. "This is a major step in designing robots that can learn from watching humans," said Micah Clark, a program officer in ONR's Warfighter Performance Department who oversees Rao's research. "It could one day result in truly intelligent machines that understand the intent and goals behind certain tasks, and help humans achieve those goals." For decades, scientists, writers, and filmmakers have envisioned a future where robots make human life safer and easier by doing mundane household chores or helping troops in battle. Rao believes this type of artificial intelligence might be achieved with inspiration from the most adorable and inquisitive of humans; babies.