According to the technology website IEEE Spectrum reported that recently, IEEE Spectrum interviewed three robot development experts at Agile Robotics and Boston Dynamics, starting with a YouTube video of a robot falling. Three development experts explain in detail the causes of robot falls of public concern and the attitudes of developers.

Previously, a video posted by Boston Dynamics of a robot falling has gone viral on YouTube. The public has different attitudes towards robot falls, some of the public just treat it as a funny video, and some of the public question the reliability of the work of robot developers.

Jonathan Hurst, chief Robotics officer at Agility Robotics, Bambi Brewer, head of customer experience, and Aaron, CTO at Boston Dynamics Ms Saunders responded to questions from the public in this interview. The discussion of three robot development experts centered on robot falls, mainly including understanding the causes of robot falls, and the solution measures taken by developers in the face of different types of causes.

In interviews, all three robotics researchers said that people should not be overly nervous about robots falling. On the one hand, robot fall is an important part of the robot research process. Through the speed, Angle and scene of robot fall, the causes of robot fall are studied, the system algorithm is updated, and the corresponding fall protection mechanism is set up.

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On the other hand, for some accidental errors, the researchers conducted a case-by-case discussion: If the error scene is worth learning, then the researchers should recall the accident scene and continuously optimize the robot; If the error is accidental or within reasonable limits, the researchers continue with the original process.

In addition, for the public’s concern, the three developers also said that the public can look at the robot’s fall with a normal heart. For robot developers, robot falls are a common thing in the development process. Especially in the development process, the more problems the robot exposes, the better. If a robot product will be released to the public, developers will also try to solve various problems in the early stage of research and development to release a safe and mature robot product to the public.

The following is a summary of the interview:

For robot falls, the public tends to watch, and researchers tend to correct mistakes

Question 1: Why do people react so strongly to robot falls?

Jonathan Hurst: People will post funny videos of their pets or their children, and their pets will react in ways that you can identify with. It’s even more interesting when it’s a robot that wouldn’t normally do that. So when Digit looks like “I’m tired of doing this job” and collapses, people say “Robot I get you.” But when people are accustomed to robot falls, people’s sense of novelty is lost.

Bambi Brewer: Experts who build robots spend a lot of time trying to show them at their best. The way the robot moves seems to be mechanically repetitive. So when the public sees the robot fall, it will be very interesting, because the public is more used to the robot’s stereotyped actions.