From A Distance: Robot Remote Control
Scientists in Russia wearing an exoskeleton succeeded in controlling a distant connected robot in Germany, within the framework of a project called CAPIO with numerous applications.
The project is the work of DFKI, a German Research Centre for Artificial Intelligence, resembling the US DARPA, focusing on building robots for carrying out applications and tasks that can assist humans.
AILA, one of its robots, is controllable using CAPIO, an eight-contact exoskeleton system that wearers can use to move AILA in real time from a great distance.
“The idea behind the project was to combine AI software approaches like machine learning and robotics-based hardware design to achieve an exoskeleton that understands the user’s intentions in terms of arm movements, and supports those intentions seamlessly,” said Professor Dr. Frank Kirchner, a roboticist.
The possible applications of CAPIO are endless. For example, according to motherboard.vice.com, AILA was originally designed for logistics applications, with its two five fingered arms and its advanced sensors allowing it to feel its way around the environment. But it can do more. A user wearing the CAPIO exoskeleton can move AILA around a room, flip switches, manipulate handles, and even pick up a stress ball with precision.
DFKI and MIT are both working on similar technologies for use in disaster areas. The developers even envision humans controlling a robot on the International Space Station, which is actually just a tenth of the distance from Bremen, Germany, to Magnitogorsk, Russia, only vertical rather than horizontal.
Another ambition, closer to the heart of Kirchner, is that it could function as an important tool in the rehabilitation of stroke patients by acting as their avatar on a 24/7 basis during their recovery.
“Once we make it even lighter and more wearable, we can think of giving these things to patients to take home and wear all day,” Kirchner said. “This way people will be able to move their arms again and be self-sufficient again.”
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