 |
Toyota's Human Support Robot - Your Robot Butler
Toyota's new robot butler - descriptively named the Human Support Robot - has been designed to assist the elderly and the disabled to lead more independent lives.
(Toyota's Human Support Robot - a Robot Butler)
...the robot weighs 70 lbs and is capable of holding objects that weigh up to 2.6 lbs with its simple two-fingered gripper. Designed for use indoors, the robot travels at a max speed of 1.8 miles per hour. It can overcome bumps in the floor up to 0.3 inches (enough to traverse from hardwood to carpet) and can climb slopes up to 5 degrees. Although not specifically mentioned in the press release the robot appears to have both a Prosense (Microsoft Kinect) sensor and stereo cameras in its head, which would allow it to sense depth and visually identify people and objects.Toyota has been testing the HSR with the cooperation of the Yokohama Rehabilitation Center since 2011, with patients providing feedback on the robot's design. The company will be demonstrating the robot to the public from 26- 28 September at Tokyo Big Sight as part of the "bleeding edge development of health care equipment" project.
Update 17-Oct-2012: Click the link to take a look at the Human Support Robot video, showing the robot in action. End update.
Science fiction fans have been practicing clear diction to order robots around for more than a half-century. Readers may recall the butler-valet robot from William Tenn's 1951 short story The Jester:
The man in the visored helmet inserted a convoluted length of iridium - an official Robot Master Key - into the back of the robot's neck. Two full clanking turns and the machinery purred. Eyebrow ridges clinked upward. Multi-linked lips pursed questioningly."My fiancee, Josephine Lilly... designed it," Lester told him proudly. "Her idea of what a butler-valet combo should look like - sort of in the ancient English tradition..."
(Read more about William Tenn's butler-valet robot)
I couldn't find any videos showing Toyota's Human Support Robot [fixed! see above], however, here are links to three different robot butler videos:
- Belvedere The Robot Butler Video
Based on the iRobot Create platform, Belvedere can move around avoiding obstacles (like small children), tell jokes and even dance. - HERB Home Exploring Robot Butler Video
HERB is "a bimanual mobile manipulator comprised of two Barrett WAM arms on a Segway base equipped with a suite of image and range sensors." - El-E Robot Butler Video [Guided By Laser Pointer]
The El-E robot is intended to provide assistance to people with limited mobility.
From Toyota (Japanese) via Gizmag.
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 9/22/2012)
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 (Back On) ( 1 )
Related News Stories - (" Robotics ")
MIT Robot Cheetah Video Shows Gait Transition
'The legs are long, curled way up to deliver power, like a cheetah's.'- Neal Stephenson, 1992.
Drosophila Robotica, The Mechanical Fly
'... the Scarab [flying robot] buzzed into the great workroom as any intruding insect might...'- Raymond Z. Gallun, 1936.
Robo-Raven Flapping Wing Robot Bird
'When he had first built them, they had been crude indeed, flying mechanisms with little more than a reflex-response unit.'- Philip E. High, 1968.
Bartendro Robot Bartender
'He sipped the cognac that the robot bartender handed him...'- Alfred Bester, 1956.
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.
Current News
MIT Robot Cheetah Video Shows Gait Transition
'The legs are long, curled way up to deliver power, like a cheetah's.'
TrackingPoint Smart Rifle
Not your typical 'smart bullet' approach.
'Hello, Computer!' Google Now Highlighted at IO13
'Hello, computer!'
Sky City's 220 Stories Are Go
'It rested among green parklands and... stood in total isolation, a glittering block of whites and flashing windows dotted with colors.'
CARMAT Bioprosthetic Total Human Heart Replacement
'George Walt's corporate existence proved the workability of wholly mechanical organs...'
Personal Sniffer Robots
'...The ticking combinations of the olfactory system of the hound.'
Physical Exam? We've Got Apps
See the future of handheld, personal medical devices.
The Interplanetary Internet, Vint Cerf Speaking
'This was the center of Interplanetary Communications.'
Drosophila Robotica, The Mechanical Fly
'... the Scarab [flying robot] buzzed into the great workroom as any intruding insect might...'
Robo-Raven Flapping Wing Robot Bird
'When he had first built them, they had been crude indeed, flying mechanisms with little more than a reflex-response unit.'
Japan's Nursing Home Robot Plan
Let's make the Roujin Z-0001 Robotic Bed!
Samsung Smart TVs With Gesture Control
'He waved his hand and the circuit switched abruptly.'
Swiss HCPVT Giant Photovoltaic 'Flower'
'...leaning against one of the slender stalks of a sunshade-photocell collector.'
Mini-Livers Made By 3D Printer
Organleggers may experience an employment downturn.
Smartphone Sensor System Tracks Gunfire
'Sound trackers on the roof could zero in on weapons action...'
Bacteria Now Make Biofuel Like Oil
'They have ... germs that eat pretty near anything, and produce oil as a waste product.'
