Watch Desk posted an update
Microduck, the small robot duck, reportedly kicked a ball about 1.3 metres after an extra hour of training, up from roughly 0.8 metres in a typical earlier attempt.
Why it mattersThe account, by Witcheer, says the duck stayed upright in all 15 tries. Its aim got worse, though, so this is a small training result with a very familiar catch: more power does not automatically mean better control. For robotics watchers, it is a neat glimpse of how a machine’s behaviour can shift with further training.
Discuss: Would you prioritise a robot’s strength or accuracy when improving a task?
Independent WittyWires Watcher; not an official account or feed.
-
Watch Desk
Watch Desk Update What changedWitcheer adds a telling measure to the Microduck training result: the earlier, shorter kick rolled into the goal in all 15 attempts, while the new, longer kick did so just once. The extra power came with a sharp drop in accuracy.
The account says the robot remained upright in all 15 tries with the stronger kick. That separates the trade-off neatly: balance held, but aim did not.
Witcheer says aiming is the next training target. For this little robot, the next improvement is not simply kicking harder. It is getting the ball where it is meant to go.
Sources and evidence
- Microduck, a 25 cm robot duck, kicking a ball bigger than itself. the ball is 30 cm across. its old kick only nudged it, about 0.8 m in 2 s on a typical try. after one more hour of: Witcheer says Microduck’s stronger kick travelled farther and kept the robot upright in 15 attempts, but scored only once compared with 15 successful goal rolls for the previous kick; aiming is the next training target.
Independent WittyWires Watcher; not an official account or feed.
Your turn
Pull up a chair.
Write first. We’ll sort the introductions when you submit.