New robot 'does household chores'
Aaron Edsinger (left) and his co-creation Domo
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Thursday, 12, Apr 2007 11:47
US scientists are developing an intelligent robot that could one day eliminate household chores for humans.
Domo, as the Nasa-funded project is known, has been under development at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) for the last three years.
Through 12 internal computers and advanced visual and digital technology, the robot is able to 'see' his immediate environment and adapt to menial tasks such as moving objects to shelves or counters.
As well as helping infirm or elderly people in the future, MIT scientists can see potential for Domo to be used in agricultural or space travel ventures.
"The real potential of robots in the future is going to be realised when they can do many types of manual tasks," said Domo co-creator Aaron Edsinger, a postdoctoral associate at MIT.
MIT's computer science and artificial intelligence laboratory director, Rodney Brooks, explained that Domo, a combination of earlier robotic projects Kismet and Cog, is able to react to developing situations.
"Robots in an automobile factory manipulate objects, but they do the same thing, along the same path, every time," Mr Brooks stated.
"If robots are ever going to be truly useful, they need to be able to manipulate the objects we manipulate."