An MIT Robot Tried To Take On The Bottle Cap Challenge

Harin - Jul 17, 2019


An MIT Robot Tried To Take On The Bottle Cap Challenge

This month, students at MIT CSAIL decided to take on the latest #BottleCapChallenge by letting its Baxter humanoid robot have a try.

This month, students at the Computer Science & Artificial Intelligence Laboratory of MIT decided to take on the latest #BottleCapChallenge. With this challenge, a person will film themselves attempting to remove a cap from a water bottle by kicking it. Several celebrities have been joining the challenge.

MIT-robot-bottle-cap-challenge
Students at MIT CSAIL decided to take on the latest #BottleCapChallenge.

Now, MIT’s Baxter humanoid robot will have a try. With its mirroring technology, the robot can copy what a human operator does. Since Baxter doesn’t have legs, so the kicking part is impossible. Instead, they let the robot take on the challenge with its “hand,” by equipping it with a soft, flexible gripper which could bend around the cap. The gripper comes with sensors which help it learn the shape of an object for better manipulation. The team also developed a controlling system for the robot which was based on electromyography sensors. They put the sensors on a user’s biceps to real-time monitor muscle activity.

To detect the changes in the arm level of the person as well as allowing the robot to copy the action or following nonverbal commands, algorithms capable of continuously processing the muscle signals were created.

The operator then lifted his hand as the robot observed his action and did the same, dislodging a bottle cap.

Although cutting-edge robots can be used in more sensible situations, its attempt to take on the latest internet challenge showcases the great potential of the real-time system of MIT for collaborative lifting.

DelPreto, a member of the team, said that the system can work to enhance human-robot interaction in physical tasks by deploying muscle signals. It has been tested with different team lifting activities like doing basic assembly and picking up objects, allowing the robots to become more effective assistants. The system proves itself to be handy in factories or even at homes.

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