DiGORO is a learning robot developed at UEC (University of Electro-Communications); it can learn by watching humans. The robot learns about objects when presented by its helpers. After watching people manipulate the objects, DiGORO can imitate the actions.
DiGORO can also perform accurate face recognition and move around safely in open spaces on its Segway platform.
Take a look at this DiGORO video.
(DiGORO robot learning video)
I was trying to think of a better example of science fictional robots that learn by watching people, but the best robots I could come up are the "wheelies" from Stephen Barr's excellent 1960 short story Callahan and the Wheelies. As I recall, they learned to recharge themselves at standard wall sockets by watching people.
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!)
is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for
the Invention Category that interests
you, the Glossary, the Invention
Timeline, or see what's New.
LLM 'Cognitive Core' Now Evolving
'Their only check on the growth and development of Vulcan 3 lay in two clues: the amount of rock thrown up to the surface... and the amount of the raw materials and tools and parts which the computer requested.'