How an AI robot smashed human world record in Labyrinth, a classic marble maze game

Video Close-Up: AI Robot Competes in Physical tasks

Researchers have designed an artificially intelligent robot capable of surpassing humans in physical challenges. You may be aware of AI's victories over people in mental games such as chess and Go, which isn't surprising given that AI excels in number crunching and pattern recognition. However, when it comes to physical tasks, humans are generally considered superior – but not anymore.

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Meet CyberRunner, the AI Labyrinth Maze Game Champion (ETH Zurich)

Coming from the labs of ETH Zurich, researchers have developed an AI robot named CyberRunner that has learned to play the traditional labyrinth maze game crafted from wood. The game's simplicity belies its complexity – steer a ball from start to finish using two knobs, being mindful to avoid the board's holes. Despite sounding easy, this game challenges players with its demands for focused motor coordination, strategic spatial understanding and consistent practice.

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Discover the New AI Robot Champion (ETH Zurich)

Outfitted with two motors, a camera and a computer, CyberRunner embodies human functions of hands, eyes and brain, using these to play the maze game. Like its human counterparts, the robot learns from past experiences, leveraging recent developments in model-based reinforcement learning. This technology allows the robot to predict the outcomes from various actions, thereby making better-informed choices and learning successful behaviors.

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As CyberRunner plays, it observes and records its performance, constantly evolving and refining its control over the motors. In this way, the AI robot exhibits similar learning behaviors to human 'practice', leading to continuously improving performance.

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One Small Step for Man, One Giant Leap for AI Robots (ETH Zurich)

After a dedicated training period of 6.06 hours, CyberRunner broke the previous world record for the game as set by Lars Göran Danielsson in 2022. Timing in at 14.48 seconds, the AI was over 6% faster than the previous human record of 15.41 seconds.

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During its learning journey, the robot discovered ways to cheat the system and locate shortcuts. This led the researchers to step in and guide CyberRunner against skipping parts of the maze.

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Learning from CyberRunner

Thomas Bi and Raffaello D’Andrea, the researchers behind CyberRunner, have opted for an open-source approach, sharing the hardware and software systems to promote further exploration in AI skill acquisition. They hope to inspire other researchers and engineers to use their experiment as a basis for conducting their own studies. For those interested, their research paper can be found here.

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CyberRunner's triumph signifies a major breakthrough in AI, underscoring that it can now surpass humans in activities involving both information processing as well as physical skills. By adhering to the open-source approach, the researchers have ensured that the benefits of their work are available to a broad audience, encouraging further advancements in AI and machine-learning applications in the real world.

As machines and humans continue to overlap in their capabilities, the demarcation between the two further dissolves. Are you impressed or alarmed by this development? Share your thoughts with us at Cyberguy.com/Contact.

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© 2024 CyberGuy.com. All rights reserved. Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson is an award-winning journalist specializing in technology, contributing to Fox News & FOX Business. Have a tech query? Connect at CyberGuy.com.