Children teaching robots art of learning
THE ways in which young children learn could be used to develop artificial intelligence in robots, thanks to research being carried out in Wales.
Computer scientists at Aberystwyth University are studying how infants aged nought to three develop their understanding of the world so they can replicate the pattern in robots.
They are writing a list of rules, or algorithms, to mimic the stages children follow to enable robots to do some of the same things.
In theory the information gathered could help develop all aspects of technology, from automatic hoovers to space research.
Patricia Shaw, lecturer in Computer Science and a member of the Intelligent Robotics Group, said: “During infancy, children learn from their experiences of the world around them. Through playing with objects they build up an understanding of what objects are and how to use them, along with concepts about the basic physics of the world such as object permanence.
“We are modelling how young infants learn and applying it to a humanoid robot. The aim is to develop a mechanism for robots to learn about the basic physics of the world through understanding objects.”
Scientists in Aberystwyth use a robot named iCub to develop their research.
“We work with psychologists and neuroscientists to understand how children develop and learn, even from before birth,” the lecturer added. “In the work we have done so far, we have developed a model that enables the iCub robot to learn how to coordinate what it is sensing to the motor movements it can make.
“The target is that the research could lead to robots that are much more capable of adapting to unknown situations because they have the capacity to learn and discover new skills.”
Working with developmental psychologists at Cardiff and Oxford universities, the Intelligent Robotics Group at Aberystwyth University was awarded £560,000 by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council for a three-year research project.
Developmental psychologists will help robots learn more about the physics of objects and how to use objects as tools.
However, Dr Alexandros Giagkos is not so sure that artificial intelligence could one day surpass the human mind.
“Would robots ever be better than us? I don’t think so,” she said.
“Humans are quite complicated. It is a matter of what you tell a robot to do. People don’t need to be scared.
“The robot will always be behind because of the changing dynamics of the world we live in.
“Humans have gone through millions of years of development so we should not expect robots to develop to that extent.”