Future of Engineering

Explores Places Where GPS Doesn't Work

Knock! Knock! The wolf rapped on the door.
"Who's there?" cried Grandma from her bed.
"It's me, Little Red Riding Hood..."

In the 21st century there's going to be a twist in the tale. Grandma opens the door to let in Tartalo, an autonomous robot designed by Basilio Sierra's team in the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU). This 1.5-metre tall robot can find its way around a new building, identify doors and ask permission to enter.(Very polite robot isn't it?)

"The biomimetic algorithms mean Tartalo gains information on a new building by exploring and taking in points of reference. As this would normally require huge amounts of data, this has been simplified by programming Tartalo to recognise common structures: room, corridor, front hall and junction. After learning the position of all of these, the machine creates a topological map that the operator can then give specific labels to."

Infrared lasers helps the robot in avoiding obstacles in its path. It gauges the size of the corridor or doorway with the help of a single-eye camera. This enables it to negotiate its way through narrow spaces. But it cannot open doors. That's why it stops by to knock with its feet.

Currently the Autonomous Robotics and Systems research team is keen on increasing the prowess of Tartalo. They want it to follow the instructions carefully and also learn to recognize faces, voices and objects. This robot would be extremely useful in places where GPS doesn't work.

Wonder if parents of the future would use Tartalo's story to teach good manners to their kids.

Source - The Engineer Online

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Labels: Robotics