The researchers have taught a computer to find regularities in the natural world that become established laws - yet without any prior scientific knowledge on the part of the computer. They have tested their method, or algorithm, on simple mechanical systems and believe it could be applied to more complex systems ranging from biology to cosmology and be useful in analyzing the mountains of data generated by modern experiments that use electronic data collection.  

The research will be published in the journal Science (April 3, 2009) by Hod Lipson, Cornell associate professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering, and graduate student Michael Schmidt, a specialist in computational biology.

英國科學家宣布在人工智慧領域獲得突破，創造出具備推理、探索科學知識能力的機器人。
根據路透社報導，英國威爾斯Aberystwyth大學的Ross King和研究團隊創造名為「亞當」的機器人，它所進行的實驗是研究酵母菌的新陳代謝，並可以對研究結果推理，主動規畫下一個實驗。
科學家希望未來機器人能夠解析生物體系、設計新藥、分析氣候或研究宇宙，不過也有學者認為現在的研究機器人頂多從事的是研究助理的工作罷了。

Extention Link
Robo-scientist’s first findings_BBC News
Being Isaac Newton: Computer derives natural laws from raw data

iRobot designs and builds robots that make a difference.

iRobot was founded in 1990 when Massachusetts Institute of Technology roboticists Colin Angle and Helen Greiner teamed up with their professor Dr. Rodney Brooks with the vision of making practical robots a reality.

Today, iRobot has grown to a $307 million public company that employs more than 400 of the robot industry’s top professionals, including mechanical, electrical and software engineers and related support staff. iRobot stock trades on the NASDAQ stock market under the ticker symbol IRBT.

iRobot’s corporate headquarters are located in Bedford, Mass. The company also has offices in Virginia, North Carolina, California, the United Kingdom, France, India, China and Hong Kong.

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iRobot Corporation.