Last month the General Robotics, Automation, Sensing and Perception (or GRASP) Laboratory at the University of Pennsylvania released a remarkable video on YouTube demonstrating the abilities of nano quadrotors– small helicopter-like robots used individually or in groups to carry out flight and construction experiments. Jests and comments that humanity would soon be overcome by these flying machines aside, it’s not surprising why the video went viral:
Could robots like these nano quadrotors be modified to self-reflect, self-improve and adapt to other situations? At a swissnex San Francisco forum, Cornell University engineer Hod Lipson demonstrates the amazing abilities of another robot, one that learns how to walk without having any sort of self-awareness that it even has legs. In other words, the robot must learn of its capabilities on its own, and then attempt to adapt:
A Robot Teaches Itself How to Walk from swissnex San Francisco on FORA.tv
