Food - Drink
Why Scientists Studied How People Carry Cups Of Coffee Without Spilling
By NICO DANILOVICH
No matter how you prep your coffee, there's one crucial step you're pulling off without even realizing how impressive it is. Carrying a steaming cup of joe without spilling is a simple task many of us do everyday, but it turns out it’s something we don’t give ourselves enough credit for, and researchers want to know how we do it.
Arizona State University’s School of Electrical, Computer, and Energy Engineering found our act of carrying hot coffee and walking with it at the same time a waltz of cognitive and muscle coordination. Per the researchers, although the movements are understood, the quantitative reasoning behind them is not.
According to the resulting ASU study, while the act of transporting a hot cup of liquid is one humans do intuitively, it’s not one they can teach artificial intelligence. So, even though robots can master many things, like computing and playing chess, they still can’t replicate complex human skills that are second nature to us.