Care-O-botgetsanupgrade,nowflirTIerandavailablewithopTIonalsecondarm

TheCare-O-bot4isdesignedtobeanaffableservicerobotonabudget

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SixandahalfyearsafterthepreviousiteraTIon,theFraunhoferInsTItutehasreleasedanupdatetoCare-o-bot.Theaffordableservicerobotforpersonalandprofessionalusehasbeenmadeitmoreagile,moremodularandmuchmorepersonable?,?bringingsciencefictionfantasyalittleclosertoreality.

Thethird-generationCare-O-botannouncedbackin2008wasanadvancedpieceofhardwareforitstimethatcouldfetchyoudrinks,placeemergencycallsandhostvideoconferences,butwhichhadtheratheruninterestingappearanceanddemeanorofatimid,somber-lookingbutler.

Comparedtoitspredecessor,Care-O-bot4isasignificantstepforward.Thislatestiterationismuchmoreagile,havinggonefrom20degreesoffreedomto31(includingsphericaljointsatthetorsoandnecktoletitbendandtwistwithgrace).Itscommunicationskillshavealsobeenrevamped,anditcannowconveyinformationthroughatouchscreen,bodygestures,sounds,text-to-speech,andevenalaserpointerembeddedinitsarm.

Whenpittedagainsttheten-fingered,backwards-running,one-leghoppingAsimotheCare-O-botdoesn’tlookallthatimpressive,butnorwasitevermeanttocompetewithHonda’sflagshiprobot.UnlikeitspriceyJapanesecousin,Care-O-botwasdesignedfromthestarttobeaseconomicalaspossible,withlargeportionsofitsinternalsmadeoutoffoldingsheetmetalandoneofitsstandardsensorsbeingastockMicrosoftXboxKinect.

Therobotconsistsofsixindependentandconfigurablemodules,fromtherollingbase,whichcanworkbyitselfasanautonomoustransportationunit,toeitheroneortworoboticarmswithsevendegreesoffreedomeachandthat,besidesthelaserpointermentionedabove,alsoincludetime-of-flight(TOF)camerastomeasurereal-timedistancefromitssurroundings.

"Customerscanchoosebetweenawiderangeofsensors,"FraunhoferInstitute’sDr.UlrichReisertellsus."Youmightchoosetohavecolorcamerasinthefrontanda3DTOFcameraintheback,orseveral3D-TOFcameras.ThesensorringisequippedwithitsowncomputationunitandreceivespowersupplyandEthernetviastandardconnector,soyoumighthaveseveralsensorringsandexchangethemfordifferentapplications."

TheCare-O-botcouldfinduseasahigh-techwaiter,amobileinformationcenterinmuseums,storesandairports,tocollectanddeliverobjectsor,likeitspredecessor,asamobilepersonalandmedicalassistant.

Basedontheirexperiencefrompreviousiterations,Reiserandteamfoundthatsocialinteractionwascrucialtomakingtheirrobotmorecompelling,engaging,andacceptabletohumans.ThatiswhythistimearoundCare-O-bot4triestodetectthecurrentmoodinitssurroundingsandreactaccordingly,communicatingemotions(asfacialexpressions)throughatouchscreen.Inotherwords,ifyoubelieveitscreators,Care-O-botwon’tjustcareforyouasapatient?,?it’llcareaboutyoutoo.

Dr.Reisertellsusthatbatterycapacityis30Ah(ataround48V)andwilltypicallylastbetweenthreeandfivehours,dependingonfactorslikethespecificapplicationandthenumberofdegreeofmovementsused.