REEM-B, the autonomous humanoid helper robot would be just the sort of mechanism you'd want around your house. REEM-B can recognize faces and also understand your spoken commands.
(REEM-B robot video)
REEM-B can walk in a responsible and self-aware manner, avoiding obstacles common to buildings and homes. It can also make an internal map of your house or apartment; this helps it to perform autonomous path planning. REEM-B can also recognize objects and then grasp them with appropriate strength and lift them (up to about 12 kg).
I think that REEM-B is well on the way to realizing Robert Heinlein's dream of an all-around household robot in his 1956 novel The Door Into Summer.
Just what did I want Flexible Frank to do? Answer: any work a human being does around a house. He didn't have to play cards, make love, eat or sleep, but he did have to clean up after the card game, cook, make beds...
(Read more about Flexible Frank)
If you're going to start shopping around for a helper robot, be sure to consider Twendy-One. See also the Pal Technology REEM website for more info. Thanks to Sam for pointing out this video.
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 4/22/2008)
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