Watch an AI-leveraging robot beat humans in this classic maze puzzle game

Artificial intelligence programs easily and consistently outplay human competitors in cognitively intensive games like chess, poker, and Go—but it’s much harder for robots to beat their biological rivals in games requiring physical dexterity. That performance gap appears to be shortening, however, starting with a classic children’s puzzle game.

Researchers at Switzerland’s ETH Zurich recently unveiled CyberRunner, their new robotic system that leveraged precise physical controls, visual learning, and AI training reinforcement in order to learn how to play Labyrinth…