Science & technology | Large behaviour models

Robots can learn new actions faster thanks to AI techniques

They could soon show their moves in settings from car factories to care homes

Robot mixing at Toyota Research Institute.
Photograph: Toyota Research Institute

Inside the robotics laboratory of the Toyota Research Institute (TRI) in Cambridge, Massachusetts, a group of robots are busy cooking. There is nothing special about that; robotic chefs have been around for a while. But these robots are more proficient than most, flipping pancakes, slicing vegetables and making pizzas with ease. The difference is that instead of being laboriously programmed to carry out their tasks, the Cambridge robots have been taught only a basic set of skills. Using the wonders of artificial intelligence (AI), they quickly improved upon those skills to become far more dexterous.

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This article appeared in the Science & technology section of the print edition under the headline “Smart moves”

From the November 30th 2024 edition

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