Science Fiction
Dictionary
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
 |
Twendy-One Robot Is Your Humanoid Helper
Twendy-One is a new and improved robot from Waseda University in Japan. The unusual name derives from the name of its predecessor (and sister bot), Wendy. Japan is anticipating a labor shortage in human services (the country has the greatest proportion of senior citizens in the world), and is determined to meet the challenge with robots.
(Twendy-One is ready to assist you)
Twendy-One also the soft touch needed for those essential breakfast tasks like taking toast out of the toaster. Twendy-One has enough strength to serve you breakfast. The trunk of the robot has four degrees of freedom to allow it to bend all the way to the floor to pick up an object, or to wipe up a spill so you won't fall. Twendy-One has the same arm length and reach as an average human woman; the hand has thirteen degrees of freedom for necessary dexterity.
(Twendy-One uses tongs delicately to remove toast)
Twendy-One's hand is biomimetic - it mimics your hand. The fingertips are made of soft material and has a gentle curved surface like a human hand. The fingertips have a six-axis force sensor, and additional distributed force sensors. Twendy-One can pick up and handle delicate objects like paper cups or soft plastic items without crushing them. It can even manipulate a straw!
(Twendy-One has a hand like yours - note the pad at the base of the thumb)
Twendy-one's head does more than just contain two CCD cameras and a force sensor (to detect a touch to the head). The robot can angle and tilt its head like a human being does to indicate intention - like asking a question or nodding to indicate assent.
Compare Twendy-One with this detailed look at RI-MAN, a Japanese health care robot; it has a smell sensor and face tracking, in addition to tactile sensor-guided movement.
Update 15-Apr-2008: See Flexible Frank from Robert Heinlein's The Door Into Summer for a good match on this one (thanks, Pete). End update.
See Twendy-One pick up a ball from the floor. Via RobotWatch; see also the Twendy-One website.
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 11/28/2007)
Follow this kind of news @Technovelgy.| Email | RSS | Blog It | Stumble | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit |
Would
you like to contribute a story tip?
It's easy:
Get the URL of the story, and the related sf author, and add
it here.
Comment/Join discussion ( 5 )
Related News Stories - (" Robotics ")
Proof Of Robothood - Not A Person
'Who are you people? - Show 'em.' - James Cameron (1984).
Dancing Robots Taught Dance Moves
'A clockwork figure would be the thing for you...' Jerome K. Jerome, 1893.
Factory Humanoid Robots Built By Humanoid Robots
'...haven't you a section of the factory where only robot labor is employed?' - Isaac Asimov (1940).
Mornine Sales Robot
'Robot-salesmen were everywhere, gesturing...' - Philip K Dick, 1954.
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
Science Fiction
Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's 1950's
1960's 1970's
1980's 1990's
2000's 2010's
Current News
Proof Of Robothood - Not A Person
'Who are you people? - Show 'em.'
Dancing Robots Taught Dance Moves
'A clockwork figure would be the thing for you...'
Indonesian Clans Battle
'The observation vehicle was of that peculiar variety used in conveying a large number of people across rough terrain.'
The 'Last Mile' In China Crowded With Delivery Robots
Yes, it's a delivery robot. On wheels.
Tornyol Microdrone Kills Mosquitoes
'The real border was defended by... a swarm of quasi-independent aerostats.'
PLATO Spacecraft, Hunter Of Habitable Planets, Now Ready
'I ... set my automatic astronomical instruments to searching for a habitable planet.'
Factory Humanoid Robots Built By Humanoid Robots
'...haven't you a section of the factory where only robot labor is employed?'
iPhone Air Fulfils Jobs' Promise From 2007 - A Giant Screen!
'... oblongs were all over the floor and surfaces.'
ChatGPT Now Participates in Group Chats
'...the city was their laboratory in human psychology.'
iPhone Pocket All Sold Out!
'A long, strong, slender net...'
Did The Yautja Have These First?
What a marvel of ingenuity the little device was!
Jetson ONE Air Races Begin, Can Air Polo Be Far Behind?
'If you're one of those rarities who haven't attended a rocket-polo "carnage", let me tell you it's a colorful affair.'
Will Space Stations Have Large Interior Spaces Again?
'They filed clumsily into the battleroom, like children in a swimming pool for the first time, clinging to the handholds along the side.'
Mornine Sales Robot
'Robot-salesmen were everywhere, gesturing...'
Bipedal Robot Floats Gently While Walking
'a walking balloon proceeded with long strides of its aluminum legs...'
Musk Idea Of Cars Talking To Each Other Predicted 70 Years Ago
'My cars talk to one another.'
