Introducing: A robot that builds other robots

It may seem like a misguided thing for us to do as a species, but European researchers have developed a robot whose main purpose is to create other robots. The most impressive part is that the robotic system assembles smaller systems that improve with each generation.

And get ready for this one: the robot designed by researchers is capable of learning on its own with no input from humans, and creates better robots by correcting its own mistakes.

The “mother robot,” as researchers are calling it, consists of an articulated arm and grasping mechanism. It was built to put together various plastic cubes, each of which has a motor inside, which, when activated, the small baby robots move around with varying efficiency, depending on configuration.

The “mother robot.” Image via BBC.

By using on-board sensors, the mother robot assesses the success of each baby robot’s locomotive technique. This way, Mom creates the next generation of little ‘bots with an eye for improved mobility and speed.

Though some may see self-replicating robots as terrifying, the purpose of the study is to produce automated systems that can learn, improve, and adapt to new situations.

So, aside from the very bad things we could imagine in a world run by ever-learning robots, what exactly was the inspiration behind this system? According to the research team, based out of Cambridge, London, and ETH University in Zurich, this robotic technology will have practical applications in areas such as manufacturing and agriculture.

“You can imagine cars being built in factories and the robot looking for defects in the car and fixing them by itself,” researcher Andre Rosendo told the BBC. “And robots used in agriculture could try out slightly different ways of harvesting crops to see if they can improve yield.”

You can rest assured, these self-producing, intelligent robots are here to help.

Source: BBC