epfl

This Robot Teaches Itself to One-Up You

Andrew Tarantola · 05/19/11 01:16AM

The nerve of robots these days. You go to the trouble of showing one how to throw a ball through a hoop (sure, you missed a time or two, but you're human — it's expected) and the cheeky little bastard goes and improves upon your demonstration until it's sinking shots like Jordan. Researchers at the Learning Algorithms and Systems Laboratory at EPFL in Switzerland, have developed algorithms that robots can use to analyze your half-assed skyhook. The robot then figures out both what you're trying to do and what you're doing wrong (besides not being Dr. J) before perfecting its own technique. No word yet on whether it has learned the art of trash-talking, but once it does, rest assured it's gonna kick your ass at that too, sucka.