Robots Being Taught to Play Angry Birds by Kids… And Dance if They Beat the High Score!

While technology advances, we see it being used in all sorts of situations. However, researchers from Georgia Tech appear to have used the innovation in a new and unique way of helping out kids. They apparently have built a robot which kids can teach to play the popular mobile game, Angry Birds, and in the process help the kids regain muscle movement and control.

The activity is described as being fairly simple. The robot is said to sit and watch the kids play, keeping its focus on the score and even recreating when the kids do. After that, the robot is said to start and get the same score as the kids do, following their example. The robot is said to be interactive as well, having it be sad and upset when they do not beat the score, or do a little dance when they succeed in passing the high-score.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wNrHwSfA_lo[/youtube]

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HAyvBK3-lNE[/youtube]

The main value from all of this is the ability for therapists to use the robots to rain and help kids cope with their disabilities. The robots are not just some toys playing around with the kids, they are said to be able to give cues and make requests as well. It is said that the therapist can then tell the robot to ask the child to play a variety of games and watch them improve. The kids even have the possibility of taking the robots home and maintain their training out of the office. This might sound childish and useless to some, but it is said to really help kids combine fun with actual proven treatment.

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Videos courtesy of TechCrunch and image courtesy of BBC