Robots will be able to read our minds in future

Scientists have developed a robot that is able to guess human actions by using mathematical algorithm.

The fantasy of sci-fi movies is shaping into reality with the passage of time. Right from their debut, robots have been proved to be a source of great utility (and of great imaginative experiments from science fiction movie makers).

While robots have been used for industrial purpose till now (A personal robot is a rare thing till date). Scientists, programmers, bioengineers and mechatronic experts all over the world have been putting great efforts to enhance their capabilities. And we are habitual of hearing mesmerizing news of wonderful robots at random times.

Here is another one. The bioengineers at the University of Illinois at Chicago have developed a so called ‘psychic robot’ which is said to ‘read our mind’ using a mathematical algorithm that can supposedly predict what we’re about to do. The software doesn’t actually read human minds per se, but it can reportedly calculate our intentions based on our previous activity – even if a particular action is interrupted.

For example, you’re reaching for something on your desk, but your hand collides with an unexpected obstacle that prevents you from grabbing it. Another person watching would be able to guess your intended motion and trajectory, but could a robot?

To test the theory, researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago experimented with this very scenario, tracking and analyzing the movement of people’s hands as they reached for an object on a virtual desk – but had their movement interrupted by an opposing force.

They created an advanced algorithm that, much like a person, could calculate where the hands had intended to go – in essence, a kind of predictive software that can foresee physical actions and intentions based on what comes before.

This innovation has great application in modern day situations. Specially on the roads, the technology can be used to prevent accidents. The ‘Semi-Autonomous’ vehicles will stop, keeping a particular distance, when faced some obstacle and received no action from driver within required time-interval.

“If we hit a patch of ice and the car starts swerving, we want the car to know where we meant to go,” said Justin Horowitz, first author of the study published in PLOS ONE.

“It needs to correct the car’s course not to where I am now pointed, but [to] where I meant to go. The computer has extra sensors and processes information so much faster than I can react. If the car can tell where I mean to go, it can drive itself there. But it has to know which movements of the wheel represent my intention, and which are responses to an environment that’s already changed.”

There are almost limitless theoretical applications, but another suitable area could be smart prosthetics. For people who experience tremors, the algorithm might be able to intuit your intended movements and reduce physical shaking.

“We call it a psychic robot,” said Horowitz. “If you know how someone is moving and what the disturbance is, you can tell the underlying intent — which means we could use this algorithm to design machines that could correct the course of a swerving car or help a stroke patient with spasticity.

Abhishek Awasthi
Abhishek Awasthi
Continuous improvement is better than delayed perfection -Mark Twain.

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