Former National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) engineer and YouTuber Mark Rober created a robot named Rocky that is perfect for playing the world-famous game Rock, Paper, Scissors. In the published video, the blogger was never able to beat his creation.
Image source: YouTube
Robert enthusiastically demonstrated Rocky’s capabilities. The chance of beating a robot in a game of Rock, Paper, Scissors is “zero percent,” according to an engineer. This impressive result was achieved thanks to an incredibly fast system for tracking the movements of the opponent’s hands and fingers. For this, infrared sensors are used that collect data one hundred times per second.
The data received from the sensors is transmitted to a mini-computer located inside the Rocky case. Then a special algorithm comes into play, which with incredible accuracy determines which option out of three the opponent will choose, and does this in a fraction of a second. Once the robot understands which option the opponent has chosen, it uses servos to extend its hand and show the winning combination.
«As for beating Rocky, unfortunately, no matter your strategy, your chances are much, much lower. About 0%,” said the creator of the unusual robot.
No strategy can beat Rocky, since the robot only makes its move after its opponent starts moving. Robert is so confident in his creation that he even set a prize of $10,000, which can be taken by the person who defeats Rocky in the game “Rock, Paper, Scissors.” Essentially, the robot deceives its opponents by closely monitoring their movements and making its move only after it is confident of victory. However, he does it so quickly that in dynamics it looks as if the robot is reading his opponent’s thoughts.