Teaching robots to fake being human has reached another level with the quirky “Render and Diffuse” (R&D) method, straight out of Imperial College London’s robot drama club. This new technique walks the high-wire between complex image data and robot thug-life actions like never before. Traditionally, robots needed a Hollywood kind of setup with 3D imaging and depth sensors to perform even the simplest tasks, but with R&D, they just need a virtual selfie to figure things out.
The heart of this robotic conundrum tackled a mission that has baffled many men for centuries: the perilous act of placing a toilet seat in the down position after using it. Vitalis Vosylius and his crew sketched out a scenario less like a chore and more like a high-stakes special ops mission—something the robots could handle, likely because they don’t suffer from human forgetfulness or laziness. They painted a vivid picture of this thrilling escapade in an article, emphasizing how robots can now use virtual reality to ‘dream’ about completing tasks successfully mere mortals struggle with.
This robotic training montage doesn’t just end in the loo. By sharpening their digital pencils on a variety of everyday tasks ranging from culinary capers with saucepan lids to adventurous escapades involving sliding blocks, R&D equipped robots are shaping up to be quite the household helpers. More importantly, adopting this tech could turn your average home bot into a lean, mean, adaptively learning machine, capable of dealing with new tasks without throwing a gear, driving further research into intelligent automation.
**Hot Take**
Who knew that the key to advancing robotics was a good old-fashioned bathroom joke? With ‘Render and Diffuse,’ it seems we’re teaching robots not just to do chores, but to dream about them in vivid technicolor. Maybe they’ll finally stop photobombing our home security feeds and take up something useful—like making sure the toilet seat saga ends once and for all. Here’s to hoping your next robot doesn’t just pass the butter, but also deals with all your other tedious tasks while it draws up its next big robotic fantasy!
Original Article: https://www.techradar.com/pro/robots-could-become-much-better-learners-thanks-to-ground-breaking-method-devised-by-dyson-backed-research-removing-traditional-complexities-in-teaching-robots-how-to-perform-tasks-will-make-them-even-more-human