A pool of water as a reservoir computer hits 100% accuracy on robotic obstacle avoidance
bravo_abad · x · 2026-09-11
Researchers used a pool of water as a reservoir computer: six actuators generate waves whose interference turns six distance-sensor readings into a high-dimensional physical representation for robotic obstacle avoidance.
- Key finding: input timing must match the reservoir's natural dynamics — waves too close produce similar patterns; too far apart, they barely interact.
- For this system, accuracy peaks with 200 ms spacing between adjacent inputs; reading one interference pattern 150 ms later yields up to 100% obstacle recognition accuracy.
The authors argue physical AI performance depends not only on models and hardware but on how information is injected into the physics itself.
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