Drones and robots capable of working autonomously, carrying out tasks such as walking a child to a bus stop without human assistance, are getting closer by the day thanks to AI being investigated by researchers at Purdue University.

The type of AI under study at Purdue develops brain-inspired computing that allows systems such as vehicles, robots and drones to run without human assistance.

“Our research is going to go far beyond the traditional concepts of artificial intelligence," said Kaushik Roy, Purdue's Edward G. Tiedemann Jr. Distinguished Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering. "Most research is focused on perception-centric intelligence. We are going to look at designing smart devices that can read and interpret data, but then take that information and use reasoning to make decisions. Today's typical computing is unable to do those things very well."

As such, researchers from Purdue’s Center for Brain-inspired Computing Enabling Autonomous Intelligence, or C-BRIC, are working to develop algorithms that enable self-driving cars, personal robots and drones to read their environments and thus make decisions based on their perceptions.

"This is only the beginning of the era for research into artificial intelligence," Roy said. "Purdue can use its broad expertise across many disciplines to lead the best team of researchers across the United States to make a huge impact."