A new technique helps a nontechnical user understand why a robot failed, and then fine-tune it with minimal effort to perform a task effectively. The background is blue and shows a pattern of coffee mugs. In the foreground on the left, a human hand holds a Tim the Beaver coffee mug. To the right of that, a robotic hand holds another Tim mug. Caption:Researchers from MIT and elsewhere have developed a technique that enables a human to efficiently fine-tune a robot that failed to complete a desired task— like picking up a unique mug— with very little effort on the part of the human. Credits:Image: Jose-Luis Olivares/MIT with images from iStock and The Coop Imagine purchasing a robot to perform [...]