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A Robot Learns To Fly

Posted by timothy on from the flap-flap dept.

jerkychew writes: "For those of you that read my last post about the robot escaping its captors, there's more news regarding robots and AI. According to this Reuters article, scientists in Sweden created a robot that essentially 'learned to fly' in just three hours. The robot had no preprogrammed instructions on how to achieve lift, it had to deduce everything through trial and error. Very interesting stuff."

7 of 289 comments (clear)

  1. Somehow... by madajb · · Score: 5, Funny


    The fact that it "cheats" somehow restores my faith in robotkind....

    -ajb

  2. Well.. by squaretorus · · Score: 5, Funny

    A robot has taught itself the principles of flying -- learning in just three hours what evolution took millions of years to achieve

    Well. Assuming the birds were TRYING to fly, knew what lift was, and already had the equipment (i.e. wings) to achieve this.

    This brings an image of stupid birds sitting around flapping randomly thinking "FUCK - I'm SURE this should fucking WORK! - Bastards - OOps, I just fell over to the left - does that mean my right wing was flapped right???? - Hey - John! WHAT DID I DO THEN????"

    1. Re:Well.. by madajb · · Score: 5, Funny


      Do you think it would have learned faster if they'd taken it up to the roof, and thrown it off?

      "Hmm...my sensors indicate that I am falling at a rapid rate. Maybe I ought to do something about that. I'll try flapping this thing. Nope. How about together..that seems to be wor...."

      -ajb

  3. Imagine the Wright Brothers... by Kredal · · Score: 5, Funny

    "Hey guys, look! We stood on really tall stilts, does this mean we're flying?"

    That would have been something to see.

    The robot stands proudly on it's wings, and tells the scientists "Look at me, I generated maximum lift, and I don't have to exert any force at all. Oh, and from here, I can see the mouse is climbing over walls to get to the cheese without going through the maze. You humans are so stupid!"

    --
    Whoever stated that signature sizes should be limited to one hundred and twenty characters can just go ahead and kiss my
  4. Re:very interesting by Alan+Partridge · · Score: 5, Funny

    that's rubbish - what we really need is to give robots the ability to turn into cars and F-14s and then join together into a kind of super, Optimus-Prime type of device.

    --
    That was classic intercourse!
  5. Finally! by jstockdale · · Score: 5, Funny

    Cheating was one strategy tried and rejected during the process of artificial evolution -- at one point the robot simply stood on its wing tips and later it climbed up on some objects that had been accidentally left nearby.
    ...
    But after three hours the robot discovered a flapping technique
    ...
    However, the robot could not actually fly because it was too heavy for its electrical motor.
    "There's only so much that evolution can do," Bentley said.

    Finally we understand the dodo's place in evolution.

    --
    **AA: a bunch of mindless jerks who'll be the first against the wall when the revolution comes
  6. Robot Learns To Fly/Escape/etc. by clickety6 · · Score: 5, Funny

    "It was amazing," said Dr. Heinrich Hienrichson, "Before I knew it, the robot had stolen my credit card, set up an account on Orbitz and booked two airline tickets to Mexico. Now the robot has escaped and my toaster appears to have gone misisng as well..."

    --
    ----------------------------------- My Other Sig Is Hilarious -----------------------------------