Anyone who’s ever tried to assemble a piece of furniture from IKEA, has had at least one nervous breakdown and thought about going minimalist than deal with such frustration. You could always use a helping hand for such activvities and thank God for robotics. This machine helps you with just that, thanks to its advanced algorithm.
A team of researchers at the USC Viterbi School of Engineering in California came up with a robotic system that can lend you a hand when building your furniture. Not just that, but the machine is also smart enough to predict how you’re going to do it, and hands you all the necessary tools, screws, shelves, and so on.
The way that’s possible is through an advanced algorithm that helps the bot gather all the knowledge it needs and learn by watching people. Artificial intelligence helps the machine classify people into multiple types, based on their actions and preferences when performing a certain task. For instance, some people might choose to connect just a side of the shelves to the frame when building a bookcase, while others might prefer to connect them all and then move on to the next phase of building their furniture.
Our smart robot takes notes of all these patterns and places you in a particular category, based on your choices and working method. In time, the robot learns to predict what your next move is going to be, based on all the information it’s gathered.
Robots working side by side with humans can bring a lot of advantages, especially in environments such as factories. People can control and monitor activities or undertake the more delicate tasks, while machines would perform the more physically strenuous work.
According to the USC Viterbi School of Engineering, this robot is not the first attempt at developing a machine that can build furniture. In fact, in 2018, a team based in Singapore created a robot that could actually assemble an IKEA chair by itself, with no human assistance whatsoever.
For now, USC Viterbi's scientists, led by Stefanos Nikolaidis, assistant professor of computer science, are working on further refining and improving the capabilities of the robot. They are even teaching it to build and then fly a model airplane.
Cristina’s always found writing more comfortable to do than speaking, which is why she chose print over broadcast media in college. When she’s not typing, she also loves riding non-motorized two-wheelers, going on hikes with her dog, and rocking her electric guitars. Full profile
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