iCub Gets Younger, More Robust
Writing by Evan Ackerman on Friday, 12 of March , 2010 at 2:45 am
iCub, who we’ve met before (a few times), was designed to study cognition in children. Thinking, learning, development, stuff like that. As such, iCub was physically modeled on a two year old. Back when iCub was first designed, though, the technology didn’t exist to make functional hands that small, so the robot was equipped with a set of hands equivalent in size to an eight year old. This has just been fixed, with iCub now sporting a pair ‘o mitts appropriate for its age. iCub also got a new, springier pair of legs that should be better able to manage the inevitable faceplants that happen when a child (or a robot child) is trying to teach itself how to walk.
A couple more iCub pics, including a disembodied head, after the jump.
[ Robotcub.org ] VIA [ New Scientist ]
Comments (5)
Category: Androids,Research,Uncanny Valley
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Comment by Arne
Made Friday, 12 of March , 2010 at 7:14 am
And there is more to come. See the AMARSi project, which just startet this month:
http://amarsi.soltoggio.net/web/Home.html
A really big European project. iCub gets compliant mechanics and a more complex control architecture for dynamical and learning systems. This will be aaaawesome! :)
Arne
Comment by whiskers
Made Friday, 12 of March , 2010 at 8:10 am
This is pretty cool. Too bad there was no segment showing iCub with audio – it’s probably wicked loud when it moves around with all those motors engaging. The voiceover lady was very annoying, she sounded like a sorority girl with a British accent.
Kind of funny to think back to the past, when they thought that by this day and age we’d have flying cars and robots everywhere… and yet it’s a huge challenge to build a robot that has the intelligence of a 2-year-old kid…
Comment by Evan Ackerman
Made Friday, 12 of March , 2010 at 2:08 pm
I think long term, they’re hoping they won’t have to build a robot that has the intelligence of a 2 year old kid… Rather, they’re trying to figure out how to build a robot that has the intelligence of like a 2 month old kid, and then let it learn for a couple years on its own. Much easier that way, heh.
Comment by pool pavillion
Made Monday, 21 of November , 2011 at 1:28 pm
Thanks for the great info.
Comment by Raymundo Scherz
Made Friday, 25 of November , 2011 at 7:20 pm
I enjoy the stuff you put in here. Very applicable information. Consider yourself bookmarked.
