robotic archer
Robotic Archer Hits Bull's Eye
In the video below, a robot called iCub demonstrates some impressive archery skills. What's remarkable about the robot isn't just its headdress, but how it learns over time to improve its aim until it's able to hit the bull's-eye. Researchers at the Italian Institute of Technology (IIT) in Genova taught the robot how to hold the bow and fire the arrow. A learning algorithm, dubbed "archer" (Augmented Reward Chained Regression) then used visual feedback to gradually improve the robot's aim. The robot, which has visual and physical sensors, is designed to resemble a 3-year-old-child and mimic methods of learning.