The future is here. Did you know there exist robots that carry people around or that perch on tree branches like birds?
Click start to play today’s Spell It, where you can find the word “robot”.
Here are five robots that have already been developed by tech companies around the world. They may not be super-intelligent, like Hal from the 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey, but they are still pretty impressive.
1. Robear
Think of a high-tech teddy bear, and you’ve summoned an image of Robear. Created at the Riken-SRK Collaboration Centre for Human-Interactive Robot Research in Nagoya, Japan, the robot is a gentle giant, and is used for lifting elderly patients from a bed into a wheelchair. Humanoid robots are being considered around the world as future home-helpers for the elderly, especially during times like the pandemic, and it appears Robear is leading the way.
2. Spot
Just one of the many robots created by American engineering and robotics design company Boston Dynamics, Spot is a 73kg yellow dog. Powered by electricity and built with hydraulic components, the dog can walk, climb, trot and even imitate dance moves. The French are currently testing Spot in combat situations, and in Singapore, it was used during the pandemic to enforce social distancing in parks and other public areas.
3. Bird bot
Last year, US-based Stanford University developed a robot inspired by birds. Their perching robot is basically a quadcopter drone, with talon-like claws that allow it to land on tree branches and hold on. It can even carry objects, like a bird! The legs of the bird are based on those of a peregrine falcon, but instead of bones, the bird bot has a 3D-printed structure, along with motors and a fishing line in place of muscles and tendons.
4. HitchBOT
A social experiment, HitchBOT was a hitchhiking robot created by researchers at Ryerson University in Toronto, Canada. They wanted to see how far it would travel, and created it with a battery, a camera, a motherboard, tablet, GPS and red eyes. The robot was able to hold basic conversations and even share tidbits of wisdom while travelling. However, it met its untimely death in Philadelphia, US, where it was crudely dismantled. But before its demise, HitchBot successfully travelled across Canada, The Netherlands, and Germany.
What do you think of these robots? Play today’s Spell It and tell us at games@gulfnews.com.
