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Robotic elephant trunk learns tasks similar to a baby

Scientists have formed a bionic elephant trunk that learns skills similar to a human infant

Scientists have developed a robotic arm, which is similar to an elephant’s trunk. The design is a 3D-printed model of an elephant’s trunk, which is made up of motors and pneumatic artificial muscles. The inventor has designed the trunk to implement it in real-world applications to bring dexterity to industrial applications.

The arm can perform jobs such as picking an apple or changing a light bulb. The arm uses self-learning software, which corrects itself when it makes mistakes and makes sure it does not repeat the same. The arm learns at every step and automatically uses the appropriate motor and pneumatic mechanism to perform the task properly.

According to an article in the NewScientist Magazine, the scientists have made use of a process called ‘goal babbling’ which is thought to mimic the way a baby learns everyday activities. It learns to grab things by continually reaching them, and in the process learn how to move accordingly and update its AI.

The author of the article stated his experience—“I can vouch for that: as I move the bionic trunk in Steil's lab into different positions, it initially resists, but then yields and follows my movement. The next time I try to push it to the same spot, it moves easily, because the behaviour has been learned. The robot now has muscle memory – which makes it seem even more alive.”

Have a look at the video to know what they actually mean.

Photo and video: cor-lab.de

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