Stone-hearted researchers gleefully push over adorable soccer-playing robots

Stone-hearted researchers gleefully push over adorable soccer-playing robots

a year ago
Anonymous $QMjB47b2Hv

https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2023/05/stone-hearted-researchers-gleefully-push-over-adorable-soccer-playing-robots/

On Wednesday, researchers from DeepMind released a paper ostensibly about using deep reinforcement learning to train miniature humanoid robots in complex movement skills and strategic understanding, resulting in efficient performance in a simulated one-on-one soccer game.

But few paid attention to the details because to accompany the paper, the researchers also released a 27-second video showing one experimenter repeatedly pushing a tiny humanoid robot to the ground as it attempts to score. Despite the interference (which no doubt violates the rules of soccer), the tiny robot manages to punt the ball into the goal anyway, marking a small but notable victory for underdogs everywhere.