How Not To Break Eggs
Writing by Evan Ackerman on Monday, 3 of August , 2009 at 5:34 am
Picking up an object is one of those things that humans do without thought, but it’s a complicated task for robots, involving all kinds of pressure sensors and dynamic grip adjustment. Willow Garage, while working on the gripper for their PR2 robot, discovered that it’s not so much pressure that causes damage to gripped objects (like eggs), but rather momentum, so if you get the gripper to slow down as soon as it makes contact with an object, you can hold it more securely without breaking it. This may not seem like a big deal at all, and I guess it’s not, but it’s another one of those little pieces that robotics researchers are gradually getting figured out on the way to making robots just as capable as humans.
And +2 to whoever had the idea of putting the egg in a bag first.
[ Willow Garage ]
Comments (1)
Category: Research
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Comment by Kyle
Made Monday, 3 of August , 2009 at 11:48 am
And +2 to whoever had the idea of putting the egg in a bag first.
No kidding! That was one of the first things I noticed, too.
Comment by Timonya
Made Monday, 7 of September , 2009 at 8:48 am
Interesting method.
It’s really fany.
Comment by Vadimich
Made Wednesday, 13 of January , 2010 at 10:52 pm
This may not seem like a big deal at all,
Comment by Palya
Made Monday, 8 of February , 2010 at 11:17 pm
PR2 robot, good link- thanks