AI Teaches Robot to Learn to Walk

Artificial intelligence has done more than teach a robot to walk; it taught a robot to learn to walk, researchers from Carnegie Mellon University  and the University of California, Berkeley report. A major hurdle to deploying legged robots is figuring out how the robot will respond to changing conditions. Humans can adapt as they walk over rocks, mud, sand, ice, and uneven surfaces. Legged robots can't adjust so quickly and most must be hand-coded for their environments. Rapid Motor Adaptation (RMA), an artificial intelligence jointly developed by the two universities, seeks to change that. It enables legged robots to adapt intelligently in real time to challenging, unfamiliar new terrain and circumstances.