Welsh university spawned the robot that could think for itself and solve real-world problems

Apr 18 2005

Madeleine Brindley, Western Mail


WALES was the birthplace for the world's first robot scientist.

Instead of creating a programmable robot capable of performing repetitive tasks, scientists at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth, last year created a robot which can think for itself.

Professor Ross King, who led the team of British scientists, said the robot was the first system that can both reason scientifically and carry out experiments.

It is hoped that it will be the first in a new generation of robots which will banish tedium from the laboratory and give human scientists the freedom to pursue bold new ideas.

It consists of a computer linked to machinery for handling liquids on a laboratory desk.

And, in tests, it was able to successfully identify the function of different genes in baker's yeast - the organism has 6,000 genes, 30% of which have functions that are still unknown.

Prof King said, "This research is exciting as we have handed control of the experiment over to the robot - so there is no human intellectual input in the design of experiments, or interpretation of data.

"There is increasing need for automation in the biological sciences and although problems we set for the robot were simple, we have shown that it could be used to help solve real-world problems."


icWales - Welsh university spawned the robot that could think for itself and solve real-world problems