Robots that learn
Dartmouth researchers have developed a basic learning robot called Brainbot. It is part of some of the cutting-edge research carried out by the Neukom Institute for Computational Science.
The Neukom Institute’s central purpose is to apply computational science to a wide array of subject areas, ranging from music to public policy. Computational science is the process through which scientists apply mathematical models to real-world events, and computational models often are important to test hypotheses when standard scientific experiments would not be possible.
This is still a pretty primitive attempt at machine learning, but the imagery questions are compelling. I have always been amazed at how well I can read things that are written backwards, upside down, or in reverse. We associate things based on a 3-dimensional image, an impression. We record the contrast of colors, and associate them, along with the correlation of the color to the shape. Think of a Coca-Cola soda can. Red, White, swirls, letters, we all know that can, no matter what direction it is facing, whether empty or full, we know what that can looks like.
I'm also taken by how humans can associate sounds of words spoken in foreign languages to words in their own languages. These will always be challenging tasks for the binary world. The associations we create, and how we dynamically compare them to our other experiences is a very powerful and advanced level of processing. Its going to take a while before we can program machines to do comparative associations.
When was the last time you saw a total stranger that reminded you of someone you knew, but hadn't thought of in a long time?
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