Wisconsin DOT celebrates Star Wars Day with funny highway signs

<p>In some ways, the robots of "Star Wars" are closer to humans than machines. Droids like C-3P0 and R2-D2 are capable of independent thought and spontaneous problem-solving. They're self-aware. And they represent a future for robotics that we might achieve someday.</p><p>We already see aspects of "Star Wars" robots in <a href="http://crablab.gatech.edu/pages/press/Murphy_aat1599_L1.pdf" target="_blank">today's machines</a>. They look a bit like C-3PO or get around like R2-D2.</p><p>And we're starting to communicate with machines using natural human language. We can give robots commands to walk around or sit down. If they know enough about their environments — like "food is stored in the fridge," for example — we can hold <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S092188901730074X" target="_blank">basic conversations</a>.</p><p>Robots with hands or feet can understand where their limbs are. Some quadcopters know when their batteries get low. And our machines can even learn. <a href="https://www.ibm.com/watson/" target="_blank">IBM's Watson</a> uses huge data sets to get better at everything from making medical recommendations to preparing tax returns.</p><p><b>SEE MORE: <a href="https://www.newsy.com/stories/droids-from-star-wars-inspire-real-world-robot-engineering/">What Can 'Star Wars' Droids Teach Us About Building Better Robots?</a></b></p><p>But we haven't cracked true self-awareness yet. Scientists aren't even sure how it works in our own brains, much less in artificial ones. A robot that thinks for itself would likely depend not just on advances in robotics but also in mathematics, computer engineering, biology and psychology.</p><p>So some engineers think we'll see <a href="https://www.space.com/40009-star-wars-droids-nasa-repair-robots.html" target="_blank">specialist robots</a> before truly intelligent ones arrive. They would be designed for specific jobs, from search and rescue to deep space travel to cooking. Like Watson — or BB-8 — they would have deep enough knowledge of specific fields to problem-solve and improvise.</p><p>And it's likely the droids we know from movies will continue to inspire our efforts, especially if the goal is a self-aware machine. </p><hr><b>Trending stories at <a href="http://www.newsy.com">Newsy.com</a></b><ul class="inline-related-links"><li><a href="http://www.newsy.com/stories/us-suicide-rates-have-risen-steadily-the-past-two-decades/">Someone Dies By Suicide Every 12 Minutes, And US Rates Are Rising</a></li><li><a href="http://www.newsy.com/stories/stephen-hawking-s-last-paper-covers-big-bang-and-multiverse/">What Stephen Hawking's Last Theory Has To Say About The Universe</a></li><li><a href="http://www.newsy.com/stories/us-uk-scientists-to-mount-new-antarctic-expedition/">A Huge International Mission Investigates Glaciers' Melting Problem</a></li></ul>