Australian robots walk the talk
Source: Agencies |
May 31, 2011, Tuesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
THEY'RE not discussing the latest celebrity gossip or passing on stock tips just yet, but Australian robots have begun talking to each other - and in a language of their own devising.
The two "Lingodroids," developed by the University of Queensland, have picked up their shared language by playing location games that led them to construct a shared vocabulary for places, distances and directions.
"In their current state all they can talk about is spatial concepts, which I think is pretty cool as a starting point," said Ruth Schulz, director of the project.
"But the important part is that they are forming these concepts, they are starting to really understand what words mean and this is actually all up to the robots themselves."
Schulz describes the robots as "basically a laptop on wheels," but each is equipped with sonar, a camera, a laser range finder, microphones and speakers that allow them to speak to each other as they move around and map out their environment in "where are we" games.
With a small whirring sound the robots whiz around the maze-like office environment, negotiating obstacles such as desks and chairs and beeping when they are within hearing distance of each other. Communicating through the beeps, the robots have an internal lexicon table that associates experiences and where they think they are in the office.
When a robot finds an area without a name, it randomly generates a word for it and shares the information with the other robot, slowly building up an agreed lexicon. The robot language includes words such as "pize," "jaya" and "kuzo."
The two "Lingodroids," developed by the University of Queensland, have picked up their shared language by playing location games that led them to construct a shared vocabulary for places, distances and directions.
"In their current state all they can talk about is spatial concepts, which I think is pretty cool as a starting point," said Ruth Schulz, director of the project.
"But the important part is that they are forming these concepts, they are starting to really understand what words mean and this is actually all up to the robots themselves."
Schulz describes the robots as "basically a laptop on wheels," but each is equipped with sonar, a camera, a laser range finder, microphones and speakers that allow them to speak to each other as they move around and map out their environment in "where are we" games.
With a small whirring sound the robots whiz around the maze-like office environment, negotiating obstacles such as desks and chairs and beeping when they are within hearing distance of each other. Communicating through the beeps, the robots have an internal lexicon table that associates experiences and where they think they are in the office.
When a robot finds an area without a name, it randomly generates a word for it and shares the information with the other robot, slowly building up an agreed lexicon. The robot language includes words such as "pize," "jaya" and "kuzo."
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