Robots will soon be everywhere 鈥� especially if ordinary objects can be turned into them. A computer program can now use 3D printing to convert household objects into hand-activated robots.
These can be used to turn on bathroom taps with the wave of a hand or to give a window the ability to shut itself when the weather gets cold.
Xiang 鈥淎nthony鈥� Chen at the University of California, Los Angeles, and his colleagues developed the tool, known as Robiot, to automate simple physical tasks.
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A user shoots a short video of themselves moving an object 鈥� angling a lamp, for example, or pressing down on a soap dispenser 鈥� and Robiot analyses the motion to create a 3D model that can replicate the movement.
Scrutinising the video, the program isolates the object from its surroundings. The system can recognise whether the object is moving in a linear or rotational fashion, and which parts of the object need to remain stationary.
It matches the movements to a repository of 3D models, choosing one that is most similar. The system then 3D prints a suitable model, including motion sensors, which the user can fix to the object.
Six people of varying engineering ability trialled the system and were able to turn seven objects into robots with relative ease. 鈥淭he level of difficulty is no more than assembling a piece of IKEA furniture,鈥� says Chen.
Currently, the system can create only one kind of motion in any given model, but the team plans to create robots capable of more complex movements.
鈥淲e鈥檒l be looking to design something that can let a lamp move across the table, or maybe bend not just at one joint, but at multiple joints,鈥� says Chen.
Other possibilities include synchronising multiple objects 鈥� for example, getting several lamps to change their positions simultaneously.
Proceedings of the 32nd Annual ACM Symposium on User Interface Software and Technology
