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Segway-Based Robot Opens Doors

Posted by simoniker on from the only-when-turned-on dept.

Roland Piquepaille writes "In this short article, Technology Review tells us that Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) researchers have built a new robot, named Cardea, which is able to push open doors and has the bottom half of a Segway scooter. Cardea will be five feet tall with a torso, three arms, a variety of sensors, and a human-like head with expressive features and vision, and mounted on a Segway base. More details and references are contained in this review which also includes several pictures. For even more details, go to the Cardea Project homepage."

4 of 158 comments (clear)

  1. Battery life? by ArbiterOne · · Score: 3, Insightful
    The primary problem with two-wheeled robots so far has been balance. This project solves that, not only with the Segway platform, but with a kickstand that extends when batteries cut out.

    How long do the batteries last, anyway? It's not much good if they run out in, say, five minutes.

    A recent article in SciAm described small robots that can be thrown through windows and will run around and map the area. I wonder if this robot could do the same? But what if it runs into stairs?

    Just some thoughts.

  2. Predictable by JamesD_UK · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I personally welcome our segway based robot overlords.

    Seriously though this is an intresting hack/use of segway technology. It'd be interesting to learn how it copes with some of the limitations of the technology. What happens when the batteries run out? That could be an expensive crash. How does it cope with moving over larger obstacles that a segway rider might just be able to cope with. I guess I really don't know enough about how Segway+Human works to think about possible solutions. Anyhow, well done MIT!
  3. Segway RMP by UWC · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The base for that robot is an official development platform called, I think, the Segway RMP, not just "the bottom half of a Segway." My college has one, too. It acts a bit differently from a regular Segway and can reasonably easily be remote controlled, balancing itself with up to 250 pounds on it. At the moment, it seems they've stuck a robot torso on top of the RMP. Not to say that's not a reasonable accomplishment in itself. I'm an undergrad research assistant in a robotics lab, and real-world application can be extremely frustrating.

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    Honor Among Slackers. A veri
  4. That's the genious! by Jeppe+Salvesen · · Score: 4, Insightful

    The Segway balances itself, actually you shift your weight to control it.

    Now, the genious part. You robot only has to shift its weight in order to move about. You've eliminated a lot of relatively hard problems by piggybacking on the segway.

    It's really kinda like using a library instead of implementing everything from scratch.

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    Stop the brainwash