10 Robots You'll Be Happy To Call Master
National Robotics Week is April 4-12, and we'll be celebrating with you, starting with today's list of our favorite robots.
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Happy National Robotics Week. Museums, schools, cities, and even casinos will be celebrating the wonder of robots April 4-12, encouraging the investment in robotics, educating the public about the state of robotics, and inspiring the next generation of robotics engineers. We at InformationWeek will be celebrating with daily slideshows, articles, and a special episode of IT Life Radio on Wednesday, April 8 at 3:00 p.m. ET.
The IT community has always been one of the first to embrace new technologies, and robots are no different. InformationWeek has a long history of covering cutting-edge robots in manufacturing, healthcare, education, and leisure. It is only a matter of time before all of us work with a robot in one capacity or another. One of the questions we'll ask experts this week is how long it will be before we see robots in cubicles and data centers as a regular part of the IT business. My guess: That will happen in about seven years.
If you're not a robot fan, now would be a good time to get used to them. To kick off our robot week, I've compiled a roundup of my 10 favorite robots. Maybe you can find one that will get you excited about the future.
Here's a preview of the many ways we'll celebrate National Robotics Week with you:
Tom Claburn is covering the International RoboGames from San Mateo, CA. The event includes sumo robots, combat robots, soccer, hockey, and even firefighting robots. Claburn will have pictures from the event and hopefully some interviews with some of the teams. Tom will also cover robots in the travel and leisure industry, which is one of the places robots are making some of the most interesting strides as they have to learn to interact with humans.
Joe Stanganelli will cover one of the newest shifts in the robotics industry: The use of the cloud to support robots in the field. He will also discuss the phenomenon of the cultural backlash towards robots, which has included protests at tech events like SXSW. Joe will cover what the protesters are worried about, and whether their fears are founded. He'll also have an article about the greatest robots in entertainment, both good and evil, that might help us understand our current relationship with robots.
I'll be bringing you coverage from Novel Intelligent Medical and Robotics Devices Conference, and an article on the misuse of perfectly safe robots in frightening ways.
By the end of the week, we should all know robots a lot better. Check out the best of robots so far, and get ready to celebrate their future with National Robotics Week.
What would you do if you asked your hotel to send something to the room, and when you opened the door a robot was there to deliver it? Personally, I'd be thrilled.
Starwood Hotels is betting that you'd be thrilled, too. SaviOne (also known as ALO) has a tablet on the front that you can interact with, and a giant storage space in its "head." It can roam the halls by itself, and even call an elevator. I might be more worried about it getting on the elevator with me than having it show up at my door. I'd definitely watch my toes.
I'm less enamored with the robot itself than I am with the way it is being tested. ATRIAS is designed to investigate dynamic bipedal motion. The lab is working on creating a robot that can walk and run on two feet, even over rough ground. To test it, they kick it and throw dodgeballs at it. Where do I sign up to get to be a tester for this robot? Check out the video here.
With robots, every day is Christmas. In December 2014, the University of Texas at Arlington Robotics Institute put its robots to work wrapping presents and delivering them around the office. Watching Baxter, a large industrial robot, perform a task as delicate as putting bows on presents is a joy.
Zeno is a social robot designed to help kids with autism. It registers facial expressions such as smiles and frowns. In many ways it is like a walking, talking Siri. You can ask Zeno a question and it can search websites and books (child appropriate) for the answer. While many toys do the same thing, this robot is specifically designed for therapy. And heck, it is cute. You can learn more here.
I'm not eager for anyone to lose their job, but pharmacist may be one position that robots are perfectly suited for. UCSF medical center is testing robots in its hospital to prep drugs, including complex orders such as those for chemotherapy.
At the time InformationWeek first covered them, the robots had delivered 350,000 prescriptions without an error. Dosage errors, cross-indication errors, and just plain wrong medicine can be deadly mistakes. Cutting down on these errors with the help of robots might be just what the doctor ordered.
Ollie comes out of an MIT class, and it's designed for animal-assisted therapy, which helps reduce stress in seniors, especially ones suffering from dementia. The problem is that some dementia makes it difficult or impossible for the patient to care for a real animal. Ollie makes for an excellent substitute, because people think otters are cute, but we don't know enough about otters to have it feel unnatural to interact with one, as we might with a robot dog or cat. The best part? Ollie runs on Raspberry Pi, so it could cost as little as $100.
Bestic is a simple, yet vital, robot arm that allows those with motor function difficulties to feed themselves. Users can control the arm with foot pedals or a joystick and select what they want to eat from their plate. Given the shortage of healthcare workers, and the desire for those with movement issues to be independent, this makes a lot of sense. Bestic frees up workers for other care duties, and allows people to care for themselves.
How could we make a list of our favorite robots without including Vomiting Larry?
At first glance he seems so gross and so pointless. But he actually demonstrates one of the most important uses for robots out there: Predictability. Vomiting Larry has one function. He vomits a blue dye in a way that's as close as possible to how a human vomits. The reason for this is to help study the spread of Norovirus.
Doctors at Health and Safety Laboratories are learning firsthand just how difficult it is to disinfect after someone with Norovirus vomits. This is a real problem, considering how infectious and dangerous the virus is. Larry may eventually help us train people to clean up better after someone vomits. This kind of research will also help manage deadly diseases such as Ebola.
Why a robot? Just try to get a human to vomit on command, and repeatedly. If you have the stomach, check out this video of Vomiting Larry in action.
A robotic gripper made by Empire Robotics, Versaball is pretty cool. How it's tested is why it makes the list: It plays beer pong. Versaball is a very soft way for an industrial robot to pick up a fragile object like a light bulb. It uses a special material that is very soft until it runs into something. Then the machine pumps air into the material, which hardens and can grip the object gently but firmly. It can then release that object with very precise timing. That's why beer pong was such a great test. Versaball can pick up and throw a ping-pong ball into a plastic cup with accuracy. Watch it here.
What do you think? Do you have a favorite robot? Are you planning on doing anything special to celebrate National Robotics Week? We'll be offering up a package of great coverage April 4-12.
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