For centuries we've struggled to extract what makes humans "human".
In contrast, we understand exactly what makes machines "machine".
Yet, even when you recognize what's missing ... it's often harder than you'd guess to train the machine to do what humans do.
Here is a video showing how to train robots to do what we do.
Jonathan Samir Matthis et al. via CellPress
While little is known about how the visual and locomotor systems work together to support movement, it's cool to watch (and appreciate) what happens and what we can do.
It's almost mind-boggling how quickly our brain can process complex geometric decisions to ensure we don't slip off the terrain. The speed and precision of the eye movements performed in a task like this are absurd.
What's even crazier is that, despite performing "calculations" that computers struggle with, these calculations happen far below our conscious awareness.
For all that complexity - in gaze and gait, in copying humans and innovating past them - robotics has advanced very far.
We now have robots that walk with relatively human gaits, and we have Boston Dynamics creating humanoid and quadrupedal robots that challenge what we thought was possible.
We've even got robots doing parkour.
via Boston Dynamics
Exciting or Scary?
