The hacker boys of Willow Garage put their minds together to make the coolest robot ever–one that can fetch and serve you beer. The PR2 robot responds to a web application called Beer Me. Let’s come up with a situation… It’s the Super Bowl and you and the fellas want a batch of fresh cold beers from the back fridge. You, the host of the party, will hop onto the nearest computer and run the Beer Me web app. In it you can access a pull-down menu and specify the exact type of beer everyone wants. Once the order is set, clicking the Beer Me button will activate the PR2 robot to fetch the beers for you. The robot will navigate your house, identify the fridge, open its door, scan the racks for the beer, grab and place the beers onto a four-holed foam block (that’s located behind the robot’s base navigation laser), close the fridge door, and report back to you with the drinks. (Note: If your type of beer is out of stock, the robot will notify the web app so you know to make a beer run.) Now it’s time for the handoff. The robot uses facial recognition to detect when a face is in close proximity so that beers are not dropped; in fact, PR2 will not let go of its death grip on the bottle until a face is detected. After you take your drink, the robot will whip out a bottle opener; you have the option to take it to open the beer yourself, or the robot can do it for you. Mind blown yet? See it all happen in the “OMG”-inducing video above. I want one.
[Via Engadget; WillowGarage]
