Toyota's new robot that glides around like R2-D2 is devoted to a single task: picking things up.
HSR, short for "human support robot," comes with a single mechanical arm that can grasp objects of various shapes and sizes and also pick up smaller items with a tiny suction cup.
It doesn't have other tricks in its repertoire, except for a computer panel on its head for surfing the Internet. A person can also access the robot from another computer and use it like a camera-phone.
Kouichi Ikeda, its engineer, is serious about using it to help around regular homes. First people with disabilities, and then for the elderly in general. Picking up is especially challenging for people with spinal disorders and other ailments that hamper the ability to stoop down and grab, he said.
"Although it can only do one simple task of picking up, it's already making disabled people quite happy. We're just getting stated, but eventually we want it to enter people's homes," Ikeda said at an exhibition of health care technology in Yokohama, southwest of Tokyo.
Toyota Robot Can Pick Up After People, Help the Sick | NDTV Gadgets
