Back to the RadioSpace™ home page
NewsDirect story topics:
Consumer, Business & General Interest
Current Events & Public Affairs
Entertainment & Sports
Health & Medicine
"Discovery Files" Features from the National Science Foundation
"RoboCup"
Fully produced report in MP3 format:
48 kbps |
96 kbps
(75 seconds)
-- How Will You Use This Story? --
READER SCRIPT
(DOES NOT FULLY MATCH AUDIO)
A REAL SOCCER GOAL. THE "DISCOVERY FILES": NEW ADVANCES IN SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING, FROM THE NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION. MANUELA VELOSO IS A VERY UNUSUAL SOCCER MOM: THE PLAYERS SHE COACHES ARE FOCUSED, DON'T GET TIRED, AND ALWAYS LEARN FROM THEIR MISTAKES. THEY PLAY WITH A MACHINE-LIKE PRECISION--BECAUSE THEY'RE ROBOTS. MANUELA IS A RESEARCHER WITH CARNEGIE MELLON'S MULTI-ROBOT "CORAL" LAB; "CORAL" STANDS FOR, "COOPERATE, OBSERVE, REASON, ACT, AND LEARN". IN SHORT, SHE IS WORKING ON THE CUTTING EDGE OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE. BY TEACHING ROBOTS, AMONG OTHER SKILLS, TO PLAY SOCCER. SINCE 19-97, TEAMS OF SOCCER BOTS FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD HAVE BEEN PITTED AGAINST EACH OTHER, IN VARIOUS "ROBO-CUP" COMPETITIONS. UNLIKE REMOTE-CONTROL ROBOTIC GAMES, THESE PLAYERS ARE ON THEIR OWN--USING PRINCIPLES OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE TO MAKE DECISIONS, EXECUTE PLAYS, AND SCORE GOALS. THE ULTIMATE GOAL OF THE "ROBO-CUP" FEDERATION IS, BY THE YEAR 2050, TO FIELD A TEAM OF ROBOTIC HUMANOIDS THAT CAN BEAT THE WORLD CHAMPION HUMAN TEAM. THE "DISCOVERY FILES" COVERS PROJECTS FUNDED BY THE GOVERNMENT'S NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION: FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH BROUGHT TO YOU BY YOU! LEARN MORE AT "N-S-F"-DOT-GOV.
For additional "Discovery Files" features from the National Science Foundation, click here.
