Robots will be similar to human beings in a new way – they can now turn to the Web to get information about something that confuses them.
A web-based database called Rapyuta will now provide the robots with information. It not only describes objects robots meet in the real world, (a new situation, place or thing), it can also come up with solutions involving complex computations. What are complex computations? “For example if it needs to work out how to navigate a room, fold an item of clothing or understand human speech,” the BBC explained.
One big advantage of Rapyuta is robots become less expensive because not all of the processing power they require is equipped on them, but is reachable via online connections. Rapyuta is connected with the European Robo Earth project. It will let robots operate more freely among humans rather than just being placed in production lines.
Also, Rapyuta is applicable for drones, self-driving cars or use by mobile robots, Mohanarajah Gajamohan, technical head of the project at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, told the BBC.
"On-board computation reduces mobility and increases cost," added Heico Sandee, Robo Earth program manager at the Dutch University of Technology in Eindhoven. He explained that as “wireless data speeds increase more and more robotic thinking could be offloaded to the Web.”
Meanwhile, in a related story, UK-based scientists are scanning the brains of bees and then building models for use in robots. The study is called “Green Brain.” The goal is to someday use the bionic bees for search and rescue missions or searching for a gas leak.
“The development of an artificial brain is one of the greatest challenges in Artificial Intelligence,” James Marshall, who is heading up the research at the Universities of Sheffield and Sussex, told ABC News. “So far, researchers have typically studied brains such as those of rats, monkeys, and humans, but actually ‘simpler’ organisms such as social insects have surprisingly advanced cognitive abilities.” Scientists want the bionic bee operating by 2015.
Overall, there have been varied uses of robots in recent years. They assist surgeons, perform household chores, and even dispense hundreds of different cocktails, SDNzone reported.
Edited by
Amanda Ciccatelli
