iCub: Europe’s open source robot continues to advance

The latest hot topic in A.I. trends is iCub, a robotic toddler that has been in various stages of development for the last couple of years. It was created from the collaborative effort of no less than 11 top European universities, and one of the aspects that makes it stand out is that it operates on open-source software. This means that it can constantly be altered by different people, and so there can be different versions of it operating on different programs, something which greatly increases the effectiveness of research.

iCub has “grown” to resemble a three-year-old child, both in cognitive abilities and in physical appearance. The idea was to design a robot that could have a higher learning rate than any other, especially when it comes to movement. One of the robotic models can perform 53 different movements, making it a leader in human simulation.

The robot is also expected to learn how to walk and talk on its own, mimicking the progressive ways in which children develop. For that it will need to be in constant communication with humans, and learn how to interact with them. Some iCub versions can already perform the before-mentioned actions, like walking, but none have managed to match the exact growth rate of a child, which is the main goal. This means a fully-developed humanoid android, like the ones you find in Sci-fi movies, isn’t going to be ready anytime soon. But as with all great things, we’re getting there.

The only aspect they greatly need to improve I think is this supposed “toddler exterior”, which at the present time looks as far away from human as one can get. If it wasn’t for the smooth plastic head on the top, one would never guess this build of wires and steel is supposed to resemble a human. I guess junior will have to earn his skin.

NewScienstist has the video (embedded below).