Intel's Robot Marvin Feeds Itself

Intel has demonstrated a robot that can feed itself by finding an electrical outlet and plugging itself in. Aaron Saenz writes in an articled titled, Intel Robot Senses Wall Outlet, Plugs Itself In, that:

teaching a robot to recharge itself is just the first step in a long journey towards autonomy. Eventually robots will need to diagnose damage to their hardware or software, and either repair themselves or travel to a maintenance facility. Full automation will also require robots that are built, installed, perhaps even designed by other machines. All along this path of development, robots will require progressively more complex sensors and reasoning capabilities. Hopefully other robotics engineers will take Marvin’s use of ROS as proof of the benefits that open source software and compatible hardware can have when trying to focus on sensing and programming. Working together robot designers can better equip robots to work by themselves.