Watch This Robot Learn to Master the Ball-in-Cup Game
Pepper uses trial and error to perfect the childhood game.
It seems as if Pepper, dubbed the “world’s first emotional robot,” is not only capable of guessing your mood, but also using artificial intelligence to master certain skills. Demonstrated by the AI Lab at SoftBank, Pepper initially requires human assistance to figure out how to play the “ball-in-cup” children’s game. After a painstaking 100 tries, the humanoid robot finally figures out the optimal trajectory of the path and is able to land the ball at a 100% success rate entirely on its own. While it seems like a simple enough function, a range of complex calculations were needed to process each mistake in order to improve its movements. Eventually, this trial-and-error approach could lead to a number of complicated tasks being performed by robots. Watch the full video above, and try to not mind Pepper’s bewildering side-eye in the process.
