Children teach robot to play Angry Birds in Georgia Tech project (Video)
Posted by: Jon Ben-Mayor on 07/11/2014 09:45 AM
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Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology have come up with a innovative way to help children with motor skill and cognitive disabilities overcome the challenges associated with their disability.
According to Georgia Tech, the machine notices where fingers start and stop, and how the objects on the screen move according to each other, while constantly keeping an eye on the score to check for signs of success.
When it’s the robot’s turn, it mimics the child’s movements and plays the game. If the bird is a dud and doesn’t cause any damage, the robot shakes its head in disappointment. If the building topples and points increase, the eyes light up and the machine celebrates with a happy sound and dance.
“The robot is able to learn by watching because it knows how interaction with a tablet app is supposed to work,” said Georgia Tech’s Ayanna Howard, Motorola Foundation Professor in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering who is leading the project. “It recognizes that a person touched here and ended there, then deciphers the information that is important and relevant to its progress.”
The robot analyzes the new information and provides appropriate social responses while changing its play strategy.
“One way to get robots more quickly into society is to design them to be flexible for end users,” said Hae Won Park, Howard’s postdoctoral fellow working closely on the project. “If a robot is only trained to perform a specific set of tasks and not able to learn and adapt to its owner or surroundings, its usefulness can become extremely limited.”
The next steps for the Georgia Tech team will include more games for the robot, including Candy Crush and ZyroSky. They will also recruit more children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and children with motor impairments to interact with the system.
According to Georgia Tech, the machine notices where fingers start and stop, and how the objects on the screen move according to each other, while constantly keeping an eye on the score to check for signs of success.
When it’s the robot’s turn, it mimics the child’s movements and plays the game. If the bird is a dud and doesn’t cause any damage, the robot shakes its head in disappointment. If the building topples and points increase, the eyes light up and the machine celebrates with a happy sound and dance.
“The robot is able to learn by watching because it knows how interaction with a tablet app is supposed to work,” said Georgia Tech’s Ayanna Howard, Motorola Foundation Professor in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering who is leading the project. “It recognizes that a person touched here and ended there, then deciphers the information that is important and relevant to its progress.”
The robot analyzes the new information and provides appropriate social responses while changing its play strategy.
“One way to get robots more quickly into society is to design them to be flexible for end users,” said Hae Won Park, Howard’s postdoctoral fellow working closely on the project. “If a robot is only trained to perform a specific set of tasks and not able to learn and adapt to its owner or surroundings, its usefulness can become extremely limited.”
The next steps for the Georgia Tech team will include more games for the robot, including Candy Crush and ZyroSky. They will also recruit more children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and children with motor impairments to interact with the system.
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