Human players beat AI robots in curling game

Human players handily beat robots with artificial intelligence (AI) in a curling game on Thursday, despite the machines demonstrating evolving skill levels. At a competition hosted by the Ministry of Science and ICT, two robots named Curly exhibited considerable skill in placing stones on target and showed the ability to formulate strategy. The robots were developed by some 60 researchers from eight institutions, including Korea University and the Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), the ministry said. The machines were embedded with "CurlBrain" software that instructs the robots to throw stones in a way to win the game, the ministry said. "There are more factors that Curly has to take into account, such as the number of stones and ice, when making strategy, compared with AlphaGo," said a researcher.