(WS News) – Will it be possible for robots to eventually think like humans one day? The idea may sound impossible to achieve but the researchers from King’s College London claimed to have found a way through which this can be made possible.
According to the researchers, if the robots are given complex instructions without electricity it will help create more free space in the robotic “brain” which will eventually help them to “think”.
Researchers gave a series of commands to devices using a new kind of compact circuit and ensured variations in pressure through a fluid inside it.
This is the first time such a possibility of giving thinking ability to robots has been introduced.
“Delegating tasks to different parts of the body frees up computational space for robots to ‘think,’ allowing future generations of robots to be more aware of their social context or even more dexterous.
“This opens the door for a new kind of robotics in places like social care and manufacturing,” explained Dr Antonio Forte, senior author of the study and lecturer in Engineering at King’s College London.
As per the findings published in Advanced Science, if this idea is successfully implemented, it will lead to the creation of robots which can operate where electricity-powered devices cannot function.
The researchers further stated that these robots can also prove useful for low-income countries that lack reliable access to electricity.
“Put simply, robots are split into two parts: the brain and the body. An AI brain can help run the traffic system of a city, but many robots still struggle to open a door—why is that?” said Dr Forte.
“Software has advanced rapidly in recent years, but hardware has not kept up. By creating a hardware system independent from the software running it, we can offload a lot of the computational load onto the hardware, in the same way, your brain doesn’t need to tell your heart to beat,” he added.
At present, all robots depend on computer chips and electricity to function.
