The observer was able to anticipate the traveling robot’s movements 98 out of 100 times, without receiving additional information about the obstruction or the goals of the mobile machine.
It’s a rudimentary situation, but the results are impressive.
“Our findings begin to demonstrate how robots can see the world from another robot’s perspective,” lead author Boyuan Chen said. “The ability of the observer to put itself in its partner’s shoes, so to speak, and understand, without being guided, whether its partner could or could not see the green circle from its vantage point, is perhaps a primitive form of empathy.”
This experiment is a concrete attempt to infuse machinery with human-like behavior, or what cognitive scientists call Theory of Mind, according to Columbia Engineering. Theory of Mind is the understanding that other people can have different goals or perspectives than you, and it tends to manifest in humans around the age of 3. This is a critical aspect in developing cooperation, competition and empathy skills, while it also lays the foundation for deception.
This article is auto-generated by Algorithm Source: www.engadget.com
