If I were you I’d watch out, this Lego Robot has become self aware! Not only that but it’s…learning to play Tetris? Robotic technology has come a long way to be sure. These days they can self-balance like a Segway, fill up your gas tank without any effort on your part whatsoever, and even fold your towels! What was once relegated to the realm of Science Fiction has quickly moved over into reality. The only question left is when will they get bored of playing Tetris and decide to use mankind as their new toy? Only time will tell.
The robot was actually created by a guy named Branislav Kisacanin (I can’t guess the country of origin despite my best efforts). It will school you in a game of Tetris by utilizing a video camera along with the aid of a computer screen. It gathers the data with the camera which is then sent to a TI DM6437 DSP board. The board itself is then programmed with some AI and visual algorithms that allow the bot to figure out which shape to use and the proper location for the piece. The arm is actually a Lego Mindstorm NXT with three fingers. Of course robots int he gaming world aren’t really that new. We have robots that can also solve Rubik’s cubes and the uber hard level of Sudoku that hurts my brain after 5 minutes. Let’s not also forget the AI’s used in nightmare modes for First Person Shooters everywhere. Still this is a unique twist, and it looks damn cool.
Now watching the video I think the robot is pretty good, but I’m pretty sure I could take him on. Just call me the John Connnor of Tetris, except not the guy from Terminator 3, that dude was a sissy. More like Christian Bale style, oh yeah. Hopefully we’ll have some more robots that can do things that are a little more..well practical.
Via: Geeky Gadgets
