Robots can now understand what you are saying in order to obey orders

By Chris Stokel-Walker

AI makes it easier to talk to robots

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Thanks to a new model based on how people actually speak when giving instructions, it is now much easier to tell a robot where to go without having to speak like a robot – that is, with commands in natural language .

Currently, many robots use simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) to know where they are in a given landscape. At the same time, they need to track their location on a map and constantly update their knowledge of the surroundings.

“SLAM is powerful and great,” says Jason Corso of the University of Michigan.