In the future, robots will be not only more dexterous, but they will react dynamically at lightening speed based on all their embedded sensors. In effect, they will become more human-like by understanding and processing their external environment by using many kinds of sensory information.
Future robot systems will be able to integrate all the sensory information into its decision making process, much like humans do today.
The Ishikawa Komuro Lab at the University of Tokyo has been doing research into both robot sensors and the parallel processing of the collected sensory information. The purpose of the Lab’s Sensor Fusion Project is to develop innovative new architectures for sensory processing by integrating information from multiple sensors.
The Lab has recently been posting videos of some of the capabilities they have demonstrated in their lab. Here is Ishikawa Komuro Lab's high-speed robot hand performing impressive acts of dexterity and skillful manipulation.
The robot hand
- Dribbles a ball
- Picks up a grain of rice with a tweezer
- Spins a pen from one set of fingers to another
- Knots a rope
- Throws a ball into a net
- Tosses a cell phone into the air and catches it.
For this technology to advance, we’ll need to see more work in areas like
- Nanoscience
- Sensors
- Actuators
- Parallel Processing
- Dynamic Image Processing
For more information, see the Ishikawa Komuro Laboratory site.
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