Curiosity Rover Decides, By Itself, What To Investigate On Mars (sciencemag.org)

sciencehabit writes: NASA's Curiosity rover landed on Mars in 2012, in part to analyze rocks to see whether the Red Planet was ever habitable (or inhabited). But now the robot has gone off script, picking out its own targets for analysis -- precisely as planned. Last year, NASA scientists uploaded a piece of software called Autonomous Exploration for Gathering Increased Science (AEGIS) adapted from the older Opportunity rover. Curiosity can now scan each new location and use artificial intelligence to find promising targets for its ChemCam. Compared with the estimated 24% success rate of random aiming at picking out outcrops -- a prime target for investigation -- the current version of AEGIS lets the rover find them 94% of the time, researchers report.

Comments

94% of what?

[Mosquito Bites]

Headline claimed that the 'success rate' is 94% Went to read the summary to find out what the 94% is all about but unfortunately it isn't saying much Any clue? SVP?

Number Five Is Alive!

[Solandri]

Original concept art for Curiosity

Number Five from Short Circuit

Things that make you go hmm...

Twaddle

[Hognoxious]

gone off script, picking out its own targets for analysis -- precisely as planned

If that was planned, then by definition it's not off script. If a music score says "imrovise" or a sc-fi script says "// technobabble here" then that's what was planned.