While robots are increasingly good at seeing, hearing, and understanding the world around them, they are still pretty helpless when it comes to interacting with that world the way humans do. They struggle to open doors, walk down stairs, or eat with a fork. “Their action and manipulation capabilities pale in comparison to those of a two-year-old,” explains Abhinav Gupta, an assistant professor of robotics at Carnegie Mellon University.

Gupta and his team are hoping to change that paradigm. Their approach is to allow robots to play with physical objects, playing and exploring their ability to grasp and lift the same way a baby would. “Psychological studies have shown that if people can’t affect what they see, their visual understanding…

Continue reading…