The robotic scientists from the Technical University of Munich (Germany) have reported that they have developed a robot that asks for directions to reach its destination. The researchers have claimed that the robot, which they have named ACE (Autonomous City Explorer), is the first ever robot that can be unleashed in the real world – in city roads.

In the research report published in the International journal of Social Robotics, Martin Buss, who led the research team, has reported that they left the robot ACE outside the university, instructing it to find its way to the Marienplatz in the centre of Munich, some 1.5 kilometres away. The ACE, lacking inbuilt map of Munich or a GPS system, was left lost to ask for directions to reach its destination.

According to Buss, the ACE is equipped with cameras and software to detect humans nearby, based on their motion and upright posture. The robot is equipped with a speaker that works synching with the animated mouth. The robot asks direction through speaker and asks the responders to touch the screen in order to help it. It says “thank you” after it gets right direction.

Buss has reported that during the experiment, the ACE interacted with 38 people over the period of five hours, and it eventually it was successful in reaching its destination. When it was given wrong directions, it had to stop due to obstacles, and eventually, it asked someone else for right directions.    

In the New Scientist magazine, the research team member Andrea Bauer has reported that "in theory the robot has to continue on its incorrect path until it needs new information, this is why we are currently working on a system to check the information from humans for plausibility”.