Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Engineers Use Laser Pointers To Guide Household Robots

Posted by Soulskill on from the helping-the-sick-and-the-lazy dept.

The New York Times is running a story about a recently developed technique for directing the actions of household robots. Engineers from the Georgia Institute of Technology have created a robot that will fetch items for you by simply shining a laser on the desired object. Quoting: "'The pointer gives the robot just enough context and guidance to solve the really hard problem of figuring out which object among many lying around in a room to pick up,' Professor Sukhatme said. 'People in artificial intelligence have been working on this problem for a long time.' Just pointing to an object with natural gestures usually isn't enough to direct a robot, and even when robots navigate to the right spot, it's hard for them to grasp a particular object unless, for instance, they have a three-dimensional computer model of it, Professor Kemp said. Guided by the laser pointer, though, El-E can fetch objects as varied as towels, wallets or coffee mugs with no need for elaborate computer modeling."

28 comments

  1. Took them long enough ... by tomhudson · · Score: 2, Funny

    ... to figure out how to do what we do with dogs and cats on a daily basis ...

    Get the Aibo!

    WARNING: Do not try with airplanes, helicopters, or police cars.

    1. Re:Took them long enough ... by dattaway · · Score: 1

      ... to figure out how to do what we do with dogs and cats on a daily basis ...

      They will justify the millions of dollars they spent for the patent too.

    2. Re:Took them long enough ... by AbsoluteXyro · · Score: 1

      It's hard to replicate thousands of years of evolution, unfortunately.

    3. Re:Took them long enough ... by marcop · · Score: 1

      Actually, entertaining your cat with a laser pointer is patented (no joke) so they had to find something else to play with.

    4. Re:Took them long enough ... by tlhIngan · · Score: 1

      ... to figure out how to do what we do with dogs and cats on a daily basis .../blockquote>

      Hrm... wouldn't this just be a consumer version of laser targeting systems that's been used by the military for aiming missiles at buildings and stuff?

  2. What's the point? by CRCulver · · Score: 2, Insightful

    If you have to guide the robot around, it no longer saves you much effort. Do you think anyone would buy a Roomba if it required constant intervention? Sure, you can still sit on your ass and direct it with a laser pointer without actually moving or exercising, but you would no longer be able to concentrate on other things.

    1. Re:What's the point? by jonaskoelker · · Score: 1

      Well, I for one welcome our new laser-guided missil^W^H robots.

    2. Re:What's the point? by zappepcs · · Score: 2, Interesting

      What you say is indeed true, but they have found a way to target individual objects without the requirement of complex vision systems. This might be a step forward in several areas of robotics. If you have a robot that is traveling back and forth in a hospital carrying supplies to various points, having to identify each parcel or tray with tags is complex. It would be much easier to do this in some universal way, and laser tag might be that way.

      In general, it is not much good for a roomba unless you are using it to tell the roomba 'this way stairs lie' or something like that. In either case, the process of identification for a robot may have been simplified in this case. Remember that robotics presents a LOT of problems that we solve on a daily basis and take for granted as easy when in fact they are very difficult. Just doing the holy grail of robotics (get a beer from the fridge) is far more difficult than you might believe. This is perhaps one way to do so, even though it lacks some elegance at the moment.

      --
      Support NYCountryLawyer RIAA vs People
    3. Re:What's the point? by sholden · · Score: 1

      It's a different problem/solution. Vacuuming a room is something that can be done petty much independently, it's a problem of navigating around obstacles and so on. Telling the robot to pick up object X over there has the additional step of communicating which of the objects X is and then the robot can do the navigation steps.

      This is hard enough with people "could you grab the remote for me? No not that one, the one to the left. No the other left. No the big one with the green button at the top. No. No. Yes. Thanks" shining a laser pointer on it would be much simpler. Until of course you want the damn robot to bring you your laser pointer while you expand to fill the available space on the couch...

    4. Re:What's the point? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Sure, you can still sit on your ass [...] without actually moving or exercising
      Hey, I resemble that remark!
    5. Re:What's the point? by anothernumber · · Score: 0

      i just saw this work presented at a conference earlier this week. this isn't beer fridge 2.0, it's targeted at disabled individuals that would require some sort of helper (helper monkey was the example they used) for basic daily tasks.

    6. Re:What's the point? by SQLGuru · · Score: 1

      /me wonders what the sharks will point at......

      Layne

  3. Great for the disabled... by MsGeek · · Score: 3, Informative

    One thing that people aren't realizing is that some people simply cannot "fetch" things for themselves. I'm talking, of course, of paraplegic and quadriplegic individuals. People have trained monkeys for this purpose, but having a pet monkey is stressful even for the able bodied. So a bot that can do this would be a blessing. A quadriplegic could have the laser pointer on a headband and point with it using their head.

    --
    Knowledge is power. Knowledge shared is power multiplied.
    1. Re:Great for the disabled... by menkhaura · · Score: 1
      From the National Geographic article you linked to:

      No federal laws regulate private ownership, and only nine states ban individuals from owning nonhuman primates.


      So, one cannot own nonhuman primates... Human primates are okay to own, though?

      Sorry, coldn't resist trying to be funny.
      --
      Stupidity is an equal opportunity striker.
      Fellow slashdotter Bill Dog
    2. Re:Great for the disabled... by belmolis · · Score: 1

      So, one cannot own nonhuman primates... Human primates are okay to own, though?

      Only in certain Muslim countries: Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Mauritania.

    3. Re:Great for the disabled... by MrResistor · · Score: 1

      Quadriplegics with lasers on their heads?

      I dunno, I think sharks are cooler.

      --
      Under capitalism man exploits man. Under communism it's the other way around.
  4. Also, for those who have RTFA... by MsGeek · · Score: 1

    Doesn't this robot look like HELPeR, the robot from The Venture Brothers? :-)

    --
    Knowledge is power. Knowledge shared is power multiplied.
  5. So... by everphilski · · Score: 1

    So they've implemented semi-active laser guidance. Not exactly revolutionary, we've been doing it in missiles for years ...

    1. Re:So... by ScrewMaster · · Score: 1

      So they've implemented semi-active laser guidance. Not exactly revolutionary, we've been doing it in missiles for years ...

      Yes, well, there's a difference between "pick something up" and "blow the fuck out of it." Still, sometimes a little cross-fertilization between disciplines comes up with some useful results.

      --
      The higher the technology, the sharper that two-edged sword.
  6. ^_^ by theaceoffire · · Score: 2, Funny

    I can do the same thing with cats.

    --
    I steal signatures. This one used to be yours.
    1. Re:^_^ by tomhudson · · Score: 1

      I can do the same thing with cats.

      ... but now you can do it with your Roomba ...

      Better option: Tape the laser pointer to the Roomba, and have it drive your cat nuts.

    2. Re:^_^ by neumayr · · Score: 2, Funny

      Patent infringement!

      --
      Truth arises more readily from error than from confusion. -Francis Bacon
  7. robotic shark by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I for one welcome our self-guiding robotic shark overlord

  8. Sure, good news, but... by Jugalator · · Score: 1

    How realistic have their vaginas become? Get to the point, guys!

    --
    Beware: In C++, your friends can see your privates!
    1. Re:Sure, good news, but... by poopdeville · · Score: 1

      http://www.fleshlight.com/ has your answer.

      --
      After all, I am strangely colored.
  9. Sweet !! by posys · · Score: 1

    Makes sense. Keep it simple...

    Step by step we are getting closer to the ROBOTIC WAGELESS ECONOMY !!!

    http://roboeco.com/

    --
    The Future is already here, just unevenly distributed... THE ROBOTIC WAGELESS ECONOMY NOW! http://RoboEco.com/slash