[archive]

Robots Tagged: home

2005

Wakamaru

Category: Household – Tags: , , , , , ,

Wakamaru is a Japanese domestic robot made by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, primarily intended to provide companionship to elderly and disabled people. The robot is yellow, 1m tall, and weighs 30 kilograms. It has two arms and its flat, circular base has a diameter of 45 cm. It is in commercial sale today.

Wakamaru runs a Linux operating system on multiple microprocessors. It can connect to the Internet, and has limited speech (in both male and female voices) and speech recognition abilities. Functions include reminding the user to take medicine on time, and calling for help if it suspects something is wrong.

2002

Roomba

Categories: Household, Military, Performance Art – Tags: , , ,

The Roomba is an autonomous robotic vacuum cleaner made and sold by iRobot. Under normal operating conditions, it is able to navigate a living space and its obstacles while vacuuming the floor. The Roomba was introduced in 2002; as of January 2008, over 2.5 million units have been sold.

Various hardware interface devices are available to access the Roomba using the Roomba Open Interface and some projects are described on Roomba hacking sites. In response to this activity iRobot created the iRobot Create, which is a programmable robot of similar size and shape to the Roomba. [Wikipedia]

1983

RB5X

Categories: Artificial Intelligence, Educational – Tags: , , , ,

The RB5X Intelligent Robot was the first mass-produced programmable robot that was made for home use, experimentation, and educational purposes. The RB5X is still being produced today.

Its inputs include eight bumper panels, a light sensor and a sound sensor. The robot can learn from experience:

“The RB5X Intelligent Robot is a sophisticated engineering effort whose microelectronics and machinery can be compared to the complex make-up of humans. Like a person, RB5X consists of a collection of subsystem “organs” that work together to make the robot function and become more than the sum of its parts, except that the comparatively crude organs consist of electronic and mechanical devices. Brain: RB5X brain is an on-board microprocessor, the INS8073 that works in conjunction with the robot’s software to permit the RB5X to learn from its sensory experiences. Using this self learning software, the RB5X progresses from simple, random responses to eventual prediction of future events in its environment, based on analysis of past prediction of future events in its environment, based on analysis of past experience.” – RB Robotics, manufacturer.