Jennifer, the humanoid robot built by the University of Manitoba’s Autonomous Agents Laboratory, recently spent some time on the slopes.
The researchers in charge didn’t just take her out for a day of downhill and cross-country skiing to show her a good time, though.
It, like the hockey lessons she received not long ago, is all part of her rigorous training program as she prepares to compete in a number of robot events.
The team has previously competed at events like the FIRA HuroCup, considered the Olympics of the robotic world featuring obstacle runs, basketball, and soccer.
The point is to put humanoid robots in situations where they have to respond to unforeseen obstacles and changing circumstances.
Said the Autonomous Agents Laboratory co-director, “Sports, from an artificial intelligence perspective, require a tremendous amount of intelligence, much more so than people give them credit for.”
Though winning is nice, the real end game is to give developers an opportunity to identify and work out challenges so they can build better machines.
The long-term goal is to create humanoid robots that can someday handle a number of potentially life-saving tasks from putting out fires to performing rescue missions.
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