Is it possible for a haptic, bilateral teleoperated robot to assemble something as potentially challenging as an IKEA chair? Cue the video.
NAVER LABS has been developing a new haptic device that can capture the natural motion of users while providing force feedback. This enables bilateral teleoperation when coupled with a robot such as AMBIDEX. Users can control and feel what the robot feels, as if the haptic device and the robot are physically connected. In addition to seamlessly connecting the user and robot, any work performed by the user is captured as training data. We aim to use the bilateral haptic device as an effective tool to gather high-quality training data, to advance the intelligence of the dual-arm robot—eventually creating an autonomous robot that can perform tasks on its own.
The idea for haptic teleoperated robotics comes from Robert Heinlein's 1942 novella Waldo:
Waldo put his arms into the primary pair before him; all three pairs, including the secondary pair before the machine, came to life. Waldo flexed and extended his fingers gently; the two pairs of waldoes in the screen followed in exact, simultaneous parallelism.
(Read more about Robert Heinlein's waldoes)
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 7/21/2022)
Mika The Robot-Boss
'the robot-boss was busy at the lip of the new lode instructing and egging the men on to greater speed...' - David C. Cooke, 1939.
Sensitive, Soft Robot Skin
'...tinted material that had all the feel and appearance of human flesh and epidermis.' - Harl Vincent, 1934.
Finger Sensors For Robot Hands
'What strange sensitivity! What an amazing development of science was manifested in every move and act and word of this Robot!' - Ray Cummings, 1931.
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.