If robots are going to become part of our everyday lives, they'll need to learn to work with everyday things. That means being able to read instruction manuals and figuring out how to use new machines. That's the plan of researchers at Cornell University, who have programmed a robot barista that can not only make a latte, but figure out how to use an unfamiliar espresso maker.
Developing robots is more than a matter of mechanical engineering. There's also the problem of how to teach them how to carry out tasks. For research and factory robots, this can be done by programming them directly, or by guiding them through their paces using controllers like keyboards, joysticks, or Waldos. However, if robots are to work in more human environments like homes, offices, shops, and restaurants, they need to be able to learn by themselves.
Led by Ashutosh Saxena, assistant professor of computer science, the Cornell team set about developing a robot barista that can use its experience and that of other robots, along with text materials, to deduce how to use an unfamiliar machine. If the robot barista has operated three other coffee machines, reasons Saxena, then it should be able to figure out a fourth.
In a new study, scientists identified eight genetic variants that could partly explain why some people drink coffee by the pot, while others avoid the stimulating beverage altogether. By outlining the genetic foundation for coffee consumption, scientists believe they can find firmer evidence to support the positive — and negative — health effects of the popular beverage.
Java Genes
Researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health and Brigham and Women’s Hospital investigated the genomes of 120,000 European and African American coffee drinkers along with data on how many cups a day they consumed, using findings from dozens of previous studies. Their statistical analysis revealed six new gene variants that governed coffee consumption, and reaffirmed the presence of two others previously discovered by the same group of researchers.
The team identified variants in or near genes that play roles in learning, caffeine metabolism, blood pressure regulation and addiction. Two newly discovered variants, near the genes BDNF and SLC6A4, reinforce the positive effects of coffee’s molecular properties. For example, BDNF is involved in the release of pleasure-inducing neurotransmitters like serotonin and dopamine.
