Rise of the Robots: UK boffins create robot scientist

Posted by Kieran Alger on Sat 4 Apr 2009

After Asimo's mind reading the rise of the machines continues as UK boffins reveal new robot scientist that conducts genetic research without the need for men in white coats

UK researchers at Cambridge and Aberystwyth universities believe they've broken new ground and come up with a robotics first by creating a 'robot scientist' capable of carrying out scientific research without the need for human intervention.

The machine is a long way away from the most beloved sci-fi visions of robots and while Asimo - who revealed mind-reading abilities earlier this week - certainly has little to fear on the looks front, the new UK created robot, named 'Adam' appears unrivalled when it comes to brains.

Until now the majority of robots are programmed to repeat a given task many times over, but 'Adam' is different. This robot, brings a more human approach to scientific endeavour and has the capacity to indulge in scientific research automatically, without the need for further human intervention.

So does this spell the end for the mad scientist and the rise of the robots? Not just yet. According to Professor Ross King who led the research it's all about team work between man and machine.

"Ultimately, we hope to have teams of human and robot scientists working together in laboratories," he said in a statement.

The likely use of 'Adam' style robots is to replace the need for graduate students to carry out the most time consuming and tedious experimentation.

Link: (via The Times)

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