Originally Posted by
MikeG
It's the balance stuff which I found most impressive.
They've just interviewed a robots/ AI expert on Channel 4 News here who revealed that these things are controlled by someone with a joystick. You aren't seeing robots working things out for themselves. The arm reaching for the door handle, or the leap up onto the roof of a garage was great engineering, but still fully controlled by a human.
That is not accurate at all. Even the ability to walk is not a pre-programmed thing. When first activated they used random movements of each leg until they learned what was the most effective way to move and maintain balance.
They are goal oriented and learn through repeated trials.