The system recognizes six objects. For research purposes, it probably will learn about two dozen. With the current state of computer power and the system design, Mr. Nelson doubts a robot could learn more than a couple of hundred objects. The team's goal is a system that communicates with humans to get information and accept instructions to work together on tasks. Mr. Nelson does not minimize the problems ahead.
Robots are bulky, clumsy and expensive.
Because of robot problems, much of the research on computer perception and manipulation will be conducted in virtual reality, where the objects and the actions will appear in computer-generated space. The computer system that drives object recognition and one that operates natural language are very different, Mr. Nelson said. This is difficult, or at least, we think it is. Within five years, Mr. Nelson predicts a system that knows simple objects, responds to voice commands and grasps objects. He envisions an intelligent system that could learn the objects needed to construct a space station and how to help build it.