Snip!t from collection of Alan Dix

<div class="caption body-narrow-width"><span style="width:304px;"></span> </div> <div class="story-feature related narrow"> <a class="hidden" href="#story_continues_1">Continue reading the main story</a> <h2>Related Stories</h2> <ul class="related-links-list"> <li> <a class="story" rel="published-1297248864545" href="/news/technology-12400647">Robots to get their own internet</a> </li> <li> <a class="story" rel="published-1362144530799" href="/news/technology-21630212">Arm lifts BigDog robot to new level</a> </li> <li> <a class="story" rel="published-1361836978959" href="/news/technology-21579211">'Robosparrow' created from dead bird</a> </li> </ul> </div> <p class="introduction" id="story_continues_1">Robots confused about what they encounter in the world of humans can now get help online.</p> <p>European scientists have turned on the first part of a web-based database of information to help them cope.</p> <p>Called Rapyuta, the online "brain" describes objects robots have met and can also carry out complicated computation on behalf of a robot.</p> <p>Rapyuta's creators hope it will make robots cheaper as they will not need all their processing power on-board.</p> <p>The Rapyuta database is part of the European Robo Earth project that began in 2011 with the hope of standardising the way robots perceive the human world.</p>