Turn Any Object Into a Robot Using This Program and a 3D Printer

Researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles created a program to render household items into hand-activated robots using a three-dimensional (3D) printer.

The Robiot program can make object-robots perform simple tasks like turning on water taps in response to hand gestures, or shutting windows when temperatures fall. Users first shoot a video of themselves moving an object; Robiot analyzes the movement to generate a 3D model that can duplicate the motion, then isolates the object from its surroundings. Robiot can determine if the object is moving in a linear or rotational manner, and which parts of the object must remain stationary.

The program matches the movements to a 3D model repository, selects the most similar model, then 3D-prints it with motion sensors that users can attach to the object.

From New Scientist 
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Abstracts Copyright © 2019 SmithBucklin, Washington, DC, USA