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Robot Learning To Recognize Itself In Mirror

Posted by samzenpus on from the staring-back-at-me dept.

First time accepted submitter Thorodin writes in with a story at the BBC about scientists at Yale who have built a robot that they hope will be able to recognize itself in a mirror. "A robot named Nico could soon pass a landmark test - recognizing itself in a mirror. Such self-awareness would represent a step towards the ultimate goal of thinking robots. Nico, developed by computer scientists at Yale University, will take the test in the coming months. The ultimate aim is for Nico to use a mirror to interpret objects around it, in the same way as humans use a rear-view mirror to look for cars. 'It is a spatial reasoning task for the robot to understand that its arm is on it not on the other side of the mirror,' Justin Hart, the PhD student leading the research told BBC News. So far the robot has been programmed to recognize a reflection of its arm, but ultimately Mr Hart wants it to pass the "full mirror test". The so-called mirror test was originally developed in 1970 and has become the classic test of self-awareness."

3 of 133 comments (clear)

  1. Self-Awareness by guttentag · · Score: 4, Funny

    When it can tell the difference between a human and a metallic exoskeleton with glowing red eyes, it's time to pull the plug. And put on your 1,000,000 SPF sunscreen.

  2. Oh, great. by Farmer+Tim · · Score: 4, Funny

    As if kernel panics weren't enough, now my computer will be able to get depressed over its body image too.

    --
    Blank until /. makes another boneheaded UI decision.
  3. And its first words during the experiment were... by sidthegeek · · Score: 3, Funny

    "Do these bolts make me look fat?"