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HE’S big, red, strong and has an enigmatic gaze: meet Baxter, your future workmate. Unveiled this week by Rethink Robotics, based in Boston, the $22,000 robot is being touted as the next big thing in robotics: an affordable, intelligent bit of manufacturing equipment that can safely work alongside humans. Although $22,000 might sound a lot, a multitasking PR2 robot from Willow Garage, in Menlo Park, California, still comes in at more than $280,000.
Baxter is designed to work in a human’s world. With a pair of dextrous arms, a 360° sonar sensor and a force-sensing system, Baxter avoids harmful contact with people and toils safely alongside them.
Most significantly, Rethink claims Baxter can be re-tasked in a matter of minutes by people with no knowledge of software programming or robotics. If true, the company has achieved a breakthrough in software that lets their robot carry out a wide range of tasks, cheaply and safely.
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