Where to begin? A silk construction using silk worms and advanced machinery; VR codes that embed video info in displays and — of course — robots! All courtesy of MIT Media Lab.
Rethink Robotics re-tools Baxter the manufacturing robot to be a research assistant. Baxter can be programmed by a human trainer who walks it through its tasks.
Sure, Baxter the Robot can pack boxes or maybe even assemble furniture. But he — er, it — may one day help senior citizens stay in their homes longer. Rethink Robotics’ Baxter made his public debut Wednesday at EMtech 2012 at MIT.
It is hard to imagine that it has only been five years since the smartphone revolution started in earnest. The sensor driven modern marvels are not only redefining how we interact with the world, but they are also having unintended consequences. Like helping make cheaper robots.
Baxter the robot may not iron your clothes but he very well might assemble your furniture or pack the boxes it comes in. The brainchild of Rethink Robotics’ founder Rodney Brooks, Baxter is really making some waves in the industrial robot sector.
