Remember when you were a kid trying to learn something new, like tying shoes or solving a puzzle? The human journey is made up of trial and error, frustration and, ultimately, triumph. Now, imagine a machine going through the same learning path.
Under the guidance of Boston Dynamics and its founder Marc Raibert, these robots are learning, just like us. Every movement, every decision, is the result of sophisticated algorithms and a deep understanding of the surrounding environment. Raibert's pedagogical approach is shaping the future of robotics, but how does he imagine this future?
Robotic learning: a "human" journey
Do you remember the first times you tried to assemble a piece of furniture following those instructions that seemed written in an alien language? Or when you tried to prepare that complicated recipe, ending up with an… shall we say unexpected result? Moments made up of trials, errors and "if anything, win the World Cup", Ligabue would say (for readers of the editions in other languages: he is an Italian rocker).
What if I told you that robots are experiencing these moments too? Not only in Google DeepMind, I intend. Also Boston Dynamics, under the visionary guidance of Marc Raibert, is trying to make every robot a little more "human". Not in the literal sense, of course, but in how he learns and interacts with the world.
In 1992, Raibert founded Boston Dynamics, with the aim of transforming his academic research into practical applications. Under his leadership, the company has developed some of the most advanced and impressive robots in the world, such as Atlas e Spot. These robots are known for their ability to move in complex environments and for their agility, a direct result of Raibert's research on robot movement.
The art of learning
Before becoming the genius behind Boston Dynamics, Marc Raibert he was a professor at Carnegie Mellon and MIT. And like any good educator, he knew that learning doesn't always happen in a linear fashion. Sometimes, you have to take one step back to take two steps forward. And that's exactly what's happening with Boston Dynamics robots.
Take, for example, their attempt to teach robots to… pour a cup of tea. It may seem like a simple task? Think of all the variables involved: the temperature of the tea, the weight of the cup, the amount of liquid… Naturally avoiding spilling everything!
How you do it? One of the most fascinating aspects of the approach of Boston Dynamics to robotic learning is… curiosity. Yes, robots can be "curious"! Of course, not in the way we humans are, but through algorithms and programming. Marc Raibert and his team are teaching an "electronic trivia" to their robots. An organization that pushes them to explore, to experiment and, above all, to learn from their mistakes.
Towards a "human" future
The distance between the two worlds remains sidereal, but becomes ever thinner. And thanks to visionaries like Marc Raibert, we can hope for a future where robots are not just tools, but reliable helpers who can learn, adapt and, in some way, "feel" the world around them in an almost human way.
When Raibert founded the Boston Dynamics AI Institute in August 2022, he decided to pursue his vision of future robotics. The Institute's first projects will focus on making robots useful outside the laboratory by teaching them to better understand the world around them.
The next time you see a Boston Dynamics robot in action, remember the learning curve it's going through. One day we might have tea with one of them, celebrating together the big and small successes that make the learning experience so good.
