In this paper, we propose to use an adaptive control method as the basis of a reinforcement learning algorithm for robotic imitation learning. In the learning stage, robots use adaptive control method-based reinforcement learning algorithm to learn the parameters of dynamical systems. In the generation stage, robots use the learned dynamic system parameters and the pre-defined controller to drive the configuration states of the robot to move along desired state trajectories. One simu-lation experiment and one practical experiment on a robot are carried out to validate the effectiveness of our algorithm. The experimental results validate that the learning of the system parameters converges very fast and the learning results can improve the system performance of generating similar motion trajectories.

Promobot, a European artificial intelligence company, has offered someone £150,000 (over €175,000) to do just that. The company want to make their robots super realistic. So, they want to base their looks off real people, with the hope of making them more lifelike. You'd fit the role if you were over 25 and have a "kind and friendly" face. The job includes taking selfies and making a 3D model of a persons face and body to be replicated for the robot's physical features.

A team of engineers from Harvard have developed a robot that will allow researchers to capture jellyfish without physically damaging them. The robot was designed to mimic the human hand and gently grasp jellyfish, whose delicate bodies are 95 per cent water. The device could be a major breakthrough for jellyfish researchers, who have long struggled with ways to study the mysterious sea creatures without damaging their delicate body. The exciting new device has a 3D-printed central housing meant to mimic a palm. The device is made with six long silicone tubes that are designed to act like fingers.

Star Wars droid characters BB8, R2D2 and C3P0 make an appearance at the Academy Awards. Ever since Star Wars first hit theaters in the '70s, many fans have wondered what it might be like to have your own personal R2-D2 by your side. A researcher at Texas A&M says while modern robots aren't exactly the droids we're looking for right now, there are signs robots use similar techniques as R2-D2 and BB-8, introduced during the latest Star Wars movie trilogy. "The word'droid' has become so ubiquitous in our collective consciousness that it is hard to believe that the word was created, and trade marked, by George Lucas," wrote Robin R. Murphy in the latest issue of Science Robotics. "But, it is believable that Star Wars robots can imitate or motivate real science." A feature of both droids applicable to today's robots is the use of nonverbal communication, Murphy writes.

Ocado has hit a key milestone this year with the help of its robot warehouse workers. The UK's biggest online grocer can now put together orders of 50 items including meat, dairy and produce in just five minutes – something that previously took up to two hours. Ocado's success is mostly thanks to its fleet of 1,000 robot workers, which have helped the firm to slash the amount of time it takes to put orders together. Ocado's success is mostly thanks to its fleet of 1,000 robot workers, which have helped the firm to slash the amount of time it takes to put orders together Last year, Ocado opened a new facility, in which robots are responsible for fetching items. The robots work alongside about 200 human workers, who handle tasks that machines can't, including loading and unloading trucks.

The behavior and interplay of two types of neurons in the brain helps give humans and other animals an uncanny ability to navigate by building a mental map of their surroundings. Now one robot has been given a similar cluster of virtual cells to help it find its own way around. Researchers in Singapore simulated two types of cells known to be used for navigation in the brain--so-called "place" and "grid" cells--and showed they could enable a small-wheeled robot to find its way around. Rather than simulate the cells physically, they created a simple two-dimensional model of the cells in software. The work was led by Haizhou Li, a professor at the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR).

General Motors' implementation of flexible robotic automation in Ternstedt, N.J., started U.S. manufacturing on the path to realizing a future depicted in a 1923 play by Karel Capek. In "R.U.R." (Rossum's Universal Robot), Capek's vision was for millions of mechanical workers -- robots (as derived from the Czech words for work or workers). Although U.S. robot numbers are not yet measured in millions, the industrial automatons are nonetheless playing strategic roles in U.S. manufacturing competitiveness, says Jeffrey A. Burnstein, executive vice president, Robotic Industries Association. RIA estimates that more than 171,000 robots are now at work in U.S. factories, placing the U.S. second only to Japan in overall robot use. Worldwide, there are more than a million industrial robots in operation, Burnstein notes.

Artist and engineer Alexander Reben says his is the first robot to autonomously and intentionally break Asimov's first law of not injuring a human being. Isaac Asimov inspired roboticists with his science fiction and especially his robot laws. A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm. Artist and roboticist Alexander Reben has designed a robot that purposefully defies that law. "It hurts a person and it injures them," Reben says.

Artist and engineer Alexander Reben says his is the first robot to autonomously and intentionally break Asimov's first law of not injuring a human being. Isaac Asimov inspired roboticists with his science fiction and especially his robot laws. A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm. Artist and roboticist Alexander Reben has designed a robot that purposefully defies that law. "It hurts a person and it injures them," Reben says.

While Cozmo sleeps, it snores. The small robot -- shaped like a miniaturized bulldozer with a CRT monitor for a cockpit -- sits in a charging dock, waiting to be awoken. Like Pixar's adorably anthropomorphic WALL-E, Cozmo falls somewhere between a Mars rover and an animated woodland creature. It's lifelike enough to evoke sympathy, but still enough of a toy not to teeter too close to the uncanny valley. With the tap of a smartphone screen, Cozmo comes to life.