Robots that Jump, Instead of Robots that Pretend to Think

A string of articles in the media about teaching robots by knocking them over: http://www.technologyreview.com/news/542481/an-algorithm-helps-robots-fall-safely/ http://www.cnet.com/news/teaching-a-robot-to-fall-over-without-making-a-fool-of-itself/ The key problem has been engineers misunderstanding the problem of walking. In a typical engineering style, the participants at the DARPA Humanoid Challenge emphasized keeping their robots upright. They expect that if the right algorithm is created, the robot