This should be in a "New Technology" forum, but part of it goes here. Facinatig article about a scientist who first tried to "kill" his creations
then made them more advanced.
Long link here
Thaler, too, is engineering independent robots. A glossy, black, plastic cockroach named H3 could be the prototype for swarms of bunker-busting robots
that could seek out, explore and use collective intelligence to defeat an enemy target. The U.S. Air Force has contracted Thaler to create such
robots.
Robots, including Mars rovers, have been programmed with artificial intelligence before, Thaler said. But those robots require human engineers to
program in leg movements and rules for getting around obstacles. Each unique encounter requires new programming, new rules, and time.
H3 gets no tutelage from Thaler at all. A sonar beacon beckons the robot, and H3's legs begin to flail. Every time the robot makes a movement that
carries it closer to the signal, it learns the value of the move. Within a few seconds, the cockroach coordinates enough good moves to scuttle toward
the signal.
[Edited on 28-1-2004 by Netchicken]
[Edited on 28-1-2004 by Netchicken]
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