8 COULD ROBOTS LEARN TO DO THINGS FOR THEMSELVES

In 1994, a graphics researcher named Karl Sims invented small graphical creatures he called Blockies. 1 Their name came from their construction; they were small random structures of linked 3D blocks, odd toy-town shapes. They looked nothing like real-world robots. But what Sims was interested in is extremely relevant to robots: he wanted to find out whether his Blockies could learn how to move on their own, rather than being programmed.