I’m really interested in robotics and artificial intelligence. I’m just in my first year in high school and our school doesn’t teach us robotics, sadly. The knowledge that I currently have right now about robotics are all just from the Internet. I know there’s still no perfect robot right now that can act like a human but is it really possible…someday?
Ivan
Dear Ivan,
It’s a good thing that you are taking interest in robotics at such a young age. Just for a fun fact—did you know that in Japan, robotics is taught since their first grade in elementary? Such a pity that in the Philippines, there are only few schools that teaches robotics. I also suppose that you already have something in mind which degree to take in college.
Now to answer your question… Science and technology is very promising because of the curious minds that we all have. We all want our lives to be easier and more comfortable and that drives our curiosity. I believe that someday it is really possible for science to create a humanoid robot. So you may think, “if it is possible, why is it not created yet right now?” Mainly because robots right now cannot be programmed to function similar with how humans sense and perceive objects. Here are just some of the problems scientists encounter--
1. The objects we see are ambiguous in our eyes.
Imagine the top views of a white A4 paper and of a white A4 folder. Don’t they look similar? These images are what our eyes see. With the help of physical touching and previous knowledge, we can differentiate them. Robots do not have a vision similar with us and it makes even harder for them to actually see the objects.
2. The objects look different in different views.
If you see a laptop, for example, its top and side views do not look the same. However, we still know that they are of the same laptop. Robots consider it as two different objects because they look different in different views.
3. The robots are programmed using algorithm.
When we see objects in our environment, we usually do not focus on them individually. We just guess what they are with the few details we had. There are times that we incorrectly identify the objects we see. Robots, on the other hand, can identify the objects they have in their “brains” correctly. This is because of algorithm. Algorithm is the procedure how robots right now perceive and think. It is black and white that there is just right or wrong. Robots could not guess and fill out the rest of the details from the few details they have.
One successful robot that could somehow act like a human in terms of perceiving objects is iCub as seen in the photo above. iCub is currently being developed in Europe. So far, he can crawl, grasp small objects, and shoot arrows. You can learn more about iCub on his website.
Don’t be disappointed by these problems, Ivan. Maybe someday you’ll find solution for all these problems. I hope I answered your question and you learned more about humanoid robots!
Senserely yours,
Jade
References:
Goldstein, E.H. (2010). Sensation and Perception (Eighth edition). USA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.
Smith, K. (2013). Brain decoding: Reading minds. Nature, 502(7472), 428–430. doi:10.1038/502428a
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