Nextage, a humanoid robot that was developed by Kawada Industries, was specially designed so that it can function with the rest of humanity without looking out of place. The start of a protocol droid, or someone – should I say something, far more suitable like Data from Star Trek? Kawada Industries mentioned that it is “logical for robots that work together with people to be human-shaped” – and I do not deny that. This robot is able to function in a space that is equal to that of a person, where its arms have 12 degrees of freedom, and its back has one, where it can position itself to within 30 microns.
The robot’s head will also feature a stereo camera, where it is smart enough to recognize its surroundings as well as its own position, whereas hand cameras are able to recognize the kind of position of that the work it is doing in detail. So far, demonstrations have proved to be pretty impressive, where a trio of such robots actually function in perfect co-ordination as they would in the real world. Capable of picking up different parts, getting them together and tightening screws, these robots can work right away the moment you let them loose. I wonder how long will it be before factory workers become obsolete for good.
