Scientists create a towel folding robot (Video)
Researchers in the US have developed a high-tech robot which can fold and stack piles of towels.
While that may not sound too impressive, experts say the way the housework bot is able to perceive and manipulate "deformable objects" is a breakthrough.
This means that though most robots can only work with 'known' objects in highly structured settings, this one works out where the towels are and what they are.
It does this by picking up each towel and turning it around, using four cameras it then scans until the objects it finds two adjacent corners.
The robot then it finds a flat surface and starts folding -- now if only it could find my washing machine too.
Researchers in the US have developed a high-tech robot which can fold and stack piles of towels.
While that may not sound too impressive, experts say the way the housework bot is able to perceive and manipulate "deformable objects" is a breakthrough.
This means that though most robots can only work with 'known' objects in highly structured settings, this one works out where the towels are and what they are.
It does this by picking up each towel and turning it around, using four cameras it then scans until the objects it finds two adjacent corners.
The robot then it finds a flat surface and starts folding -- now if only it could find my washing machine too.