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AI Researchers Produce New Kind of PC Game

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the learning-by-killing dept.

Ken Stanley writes "In an unusual demonstration of video game innovation with limited funding and resources, a mostly volunteer team of over 30 student programmers, artists, and researchers at the University of Texas at Austin has produced a new game genre in which the player interacively trains robotic soldiers for combat. Unlike most games today that use scripting for the AI, non-player-characters in NERO learn new tactics in real-time using advanced machine learning techniques. Perhaps projects such as this one will encourage the video game industry to begin to seek alternatives to simple scripted AI."

21 of 342 comments (clear)

  1. University of Texas. by XanC · · Score: 2, Funny

    If it's UT anywhere but Austin, you say where.

    1. Re:University of Texas. by Fallingcow · · Score: 5, Funny

      If it's UT anywhere but Austin, you say where.

      If it's UT and it's anything but Unreal Tournament, you say what it is.

    2. Re:University of Texas. by jivy · · Score: 2, Funny

      Texas State actually has one of the best MFA programs in the country, but yes, the undergrad program is still made for people majoring in Hootenanny.

  2. Or perhaps... by Prof.Phreak · · Score: 4, Funny
    Perhaps projects such as this one will encourage the video game industry to begin to seek alternatives to simple scripted AI.

    The DOD will get interested, and use a similar technique to train -real- robots?

    --

    "If anything can go wrong, it will." - Murphy

    1. Re:Or perhaps... by Planesdragon · · Score: 4, Funny

      The DOD will get interested, and use a similar technique to train -real- robots?

      The DOD is perfectly capable of creating robots that kill people. The hard part is making those robots NOT kill the people you don't want them to kill.

    2. Re:Or perhaps... by nick_davison · · Score: 2, Funny

      The DOD is perfectly capable of creating robots that kill people. The hard part is making those robots NOT kill the people you don't want them to kill.

      Apparently real trick is to build robot soldiers that can withstand a slashdotting.

      Iraq 0600, April 4, 2013, US robot forces are on the border of Iraq for the start of Operation Iraqi Freedom II: The Really Really Patriotic One.

      US 0605, April 4, 2013, Slashdot posts a story about them.

      Iraq 0605:18, April 4, 2013, Entire US robot force is slashdotted. Invas^D^D^D^D^D Liberation postponed.

    3. Re:Or perhaps... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      That's easy, just like in a game. Don't kill those with blue shirts. The red shirts are the enemy.

    4. Re:Or perhaps... by pete-classic · · Score: 2, Funny

      The Architect! I knew I'd find you trolling Slashdot!

      -Neo

  3. Vs by AxafluffRIP · · Score: 0, Funny

    Perhaps the robots can teach us geeks to get on up and shake that fatty booty!

  4. uh-oh by GroeFaZ · · Score: 2, Funny

    Better download it now before their server learns to resist the slashdotting

    403 Forbidden. Nice try, maggot

    --
    The grass is always greener on the other side of the light cone.
  5. Geek Robots? by pin_gween · · Score: 5, Funny

    Oh hell, you know this will taken over by /.'ers AND do /.'ers know a damn thing about soldiering?

    Probably not, but beware -- you may just create a robotic system administrator/repairman. Don't put yourselves out of a job!!!

    --
    Ignorance is not a crime; neither should it be a way of life

    Congress control $ = inmates run the asylum
  6. What about this by eric_ste · · Score: 3, Funny

    Imagine a beowolf cluster of trained anonymous cowards imagining a beowolf cluster of these....

    Maybe, after all, such a cluster exists because there is such a post on everything remotely clusterable.

  7. T2 by hilaryduff · · Score: 2, Funny

    "may seepeeyou iz ay newral ned prooozezzor... a laaarning compooota"

  8. Linux port? by RoadkillBunny · · Score: 2, Funny

    Linux port is comming soon :D And it's gonna use GTK1!?!?!

    --
    Cheers,
    RoadkillBunny
  9. My cousin is in the military.. by Sir+Pallas · · Score: 4, Funny

    ..and he says that's what the Marines are. But really, the DoD does fund a lot of machine learning; however, the current state of the art only allows machine to solve specific problems. You need a traning metric, etc. and that's not trivial.

    1. Re:My cousin is in the military.. by wowbagger · · Score: 4, Funny
      ..and he says that's what the Marines are


      Hey now - let's not get insulting here: robots are much smarter than Marines, and Marines are much tougher than robots!

      (Note: JOKE! My brother was a Marine before he worked for NASA, my insurance agent is a Marine, and there are few people I'd rather have guarding my ass than Marines.)
      --
      www.eFax.com are spammers
  10. Re:What is old is new again by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    One of the earliest forms of AI I ever learned about was MENACE. A pre-computer means of training a system to play and win Tic-Tac-Toe.

    It refused to play?

  11. Re:What is old is new again by kaellinn18 · · Score: 2, Funny

    means of training a system to play and win Tic-Tac-Toe

    And we all know what that led to.

    --

    --------
    This isn't the sig you're looking for. Move along.
  12. Re:begin? by Surt · · Score: 4, Funny

    So look me up in the credits already!
    If you can suggest how better to prove that I worked on it, let me know.

    --
    "Who is the Journal of Quantum Physics going to believe?" --Stephen Hawking
  13. Re:The problem with this... by dummyname12 · · Score: 5, Funny

    That kind of game may have a very sizeable market. My girlfriend seems to enjoy a game in which she turns me on and then leaves the room... heh heh... girlfriend... I almost kept a straight face...

  14. Re:Coral Cache by slashdotnickname · · Score: 5, Funny

    Is everyone growing retarded these days?

    http://everyone.com/growing.php?retarded=yes