SOINN (Self-Organising Incremental Neural Network) technology - The robot that learns functions it was not programmed to do

Japanese researchers have developed a robot that can perform functions it was not programmed to do.

The machine uses past experience and its own knowledge to make a judgement about the best way to proceed.

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Working it out: Japanese researchers have developed a robot that can perform functions it was not programmed to do

So far it has been able to perform simple tasks like picking up glasses of water and putting ice in them.

But the team behind it hopes that just as a child learns more skills, the robot’s abilities will develop and expand over time.

 

The SOINN (Self-Organising Incremental Neural Network) technology has been developed by researchers from the Tokyo Institute of Technology.

A video they have posted on YouTube shows their robot filling a cup with water from the bottle - instructions which it was already programmed to do.

It is then asked to chill the drink while in the middle of doing something else. 

Pouring 'water' into a cup: The machine uses past experience and its own knowledge to make a judgement about the best way to proceed

Fact following fiction? In the Terminator film series the Skynet computer system becomes self-aware and launches an attack against humanity

The video shows the robot pausing to think about what to do before it puts down the bottle and reaches over for an ice cube which it puts in the cup.

The importance of this is that the robot was not told to put the ice cube in the cup - it decided to do that itself.

Writing on Physorg.com, Bob Yirka said: 'This little demonstration represents a true leap forward in robotics technology and programming.

‘Being able to learn means that the robot can be programmed with just a very basic set of pre-knowledge that is then built upon for as long as the robot exists, without additional programming - not unlike how human beings start out with very little information at birth and build upon what they know and are able to do over a lifetime.’

In the Terminator film series the Skynet computer system becomes self-aware and launches an attack against humanity after linking up with millions of other computers around the world.

The SOINN technology has also taken a step in this direction by allowing the robot to connect to the Internet and ask other robots for help.

Inventor: Professor Osamu Hasegawa and his team, from the Tokyo Institute of Technology, are not sure whether the robot will ever be made available to the public

While this is the robotic equivalent of asking a friend for help, it makes the Terminator seem just that little bit closer.

Tokyo Institute of Technology Associate Professor Osamu Hasegawa told DigInfo: ‘Thinking about artificial intelligence in the real world, actual environments are inevitably more complex, and they change quickly. 

‘So it's necessary to have a learning mechanism that adapts to the situation. 

‘Also, because new situations emerge, it's also necessary to have the ability to keep learning new information on the spot.’

He added they were not clear yet if or when the robot will be made available to the public.

 

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2021999/The-robot-teaches-functions-programmed-do.html#ixzz1UFCNwgSG