A robot hand taught itself to solve a Rubik's Cube after creating its own training regime

To avoid this, roboticists use simulation: they build a virtual model of their robot and train it virtually to do the task at hand. The algorithm learns in the safety of the digital space and can be ported into a physical robot afterwards. But that process comes with its own challenges. It's nearly impossible to build a virtual model that exactly replicates all the same laws of physics, material properties, and manipulation behaviors seen in the real world--let alone unexpected circumstances. Thus, the more complex the robot and task, the more difficult it is to apply a virtually trained algorithm in physical reality.