Baxter robot brings automation to smaller manufacturers
A humanoid robot designed to apply common sense behavior to manufacturing tasks has been launched by US firm Rethink Robotics.
Dubbed Baxter, the robot relies on a combination of cameras, sensors, elastic actuators and a quad-core processor to adapt to real-world imperfections.
Electric parallel grippers enable it to pick up a range of objects of varying sizes.
These include a grip force sensor for positive detection of item acquisition; interchangeable fingertips that can be customised for specific objects; and electric parallel grippers that provide one degreee of freedom with multiple grasp widths. These also allow the robot to pick up objects from the inside or outside.
The robot is said to be safe enough to work alongside human co-workers and clever enough to complete specific tasks within 30 minutes. What's more, Rethink Robotics says workers don't need any knowledge of robotics to use it.
The machine's versatility and relatively low cost is expected to bring the benefits of automation to smaller manufacturers that have been unable to make the huge investments traditionally required.
