Friday, August 26, 2016

Italian Institute of Technology creates robot butler – euronews

the R1 is the latest humanoid member of the Italian Institute of Technology, based in Genoa. It was created in 16 months by scientists, technicians and engineers led by Giorgio Metta. The team believes that this new robot will become the best steward that someone might want to have:

“The R1 is a humanoid robot. We have created it with the goal of having a robot that is accessible in terms of price. The R1 is designed for the home environment, to be useful, we thought first on people with disabilities who may need help, and then in the other “, says Giorgio Metta.

The idea was to create a cheaper version than the iCub. For the project to be economically viable, many changes were made.

The new robot measures 1m and 25cm in height and can extend the torso 20 cm. It weighs about 50 kg and was made of plastic and carbon fiber and metal.

“When we finished the development of the hardware, we started to create software to operate the robot by remote control. Human beings see what the robot sees through cameras and, with a kind of joystick, he can command the robot to pick an object, for example “, explains Marco Randazzo, one of the researchers of this project.

The R1 is not yet finished but the researchers believe that soon he will be able to respond to voice commands. The Italian Institute of Technology estimates that, at first, it can cost approximately the price of a small car, making it a potential investment for companies, and then, when the price decreases, you can a few thousand euros and be purchased by families. The first of these robots may be available on the market within 12-18 months.

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