Robotics company Willow
Garage has started a two-year project to work with institutions
from around the world on new applications for its robot: the PR2. Each of 11 teams will work on their own projects, but
will share their code with each other and the rest of the world. Everything
created will be open-source, meaning others can use the code for their own
endeavors. (The PR2 runs on a software platform called Robot Open Source, also developed by Willow
Garage.)
Reminiscent of Johnny 5 from the movie “Short Circuit”, the
PR2 has two compliant arms that are strong but capable of performing delicate
tasks: the PR2 can turn the pages of a book, for example. The arms gather data
about the forces applied to them to help them respond accordingly. Stereo
cameras, laser scanning range finders, inertial measurement sensors and an
array of other tools provide the necessary data regarding the robot’s environment
to complete a wide range of tasks, including navigating a room and opening a
door with a spring-loaded handle.
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Each team hopes to expand the system’s skills. The team from
Stanford University (where the technology behind the robot was born) is working
on software for cleaning up a table and taking inventory. Folks at MIT’s CSAIL
lab, meanwhile, will work on object recognition and putting away groceries. Bosch will develop skins for the robots to allow
them to feel their environment. Using an earlier version of the robot, Pieter
Abbeel’s lab at the University of California, Berkeley developed software
for neatly folding towels. (Look out Gap employees! T-shirts could be next!)
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“We want to get robots out of factories and into the real
world,” said Willow Garage CEO Steve Cousins at a press conference yesterday in
the company’s Menlo Park, CA offices.
The view from there: Eric Berger, co-director of the Willow Garage Personal Robotics Program, explains the many features of the PR2 robot beside him. The picture shows the view from a Texai video-conferencing robot, which can be operated over the Internet. The main image shows the “head” view, while the picture in the lower right corner shows the floor around the robot and provides a much better view for navigation.
I attended the event via another of the company’s creations:
the Texai.
It’s a bit like video conferencing while driving a remote-controlled car via
the Internet. The robot consists primarily of a flat screen monitor, with audio
and video recording equipment. Folks who looked at my screen saw my face as I
sat in my living room in New Jersey. Using Skype, I was able to see and hear
most of the press conference with ease. I got a good spot in the front row, and
drove up to a few folks afterwards to ask follow-up questions. It was, however,
a bit hard to hear some people while mingling in the noisy room after the event.
But as long as the person was facing me directly, I could hear them just fine.
The only other oddity: because of the position of the camera on the Texai, it
often seemed as though people were staring at my chest instead of looking me
square in the eyes. But I suppose that happens a fair bit in real life, too.
