Could you do with a little help around the house? Or maybe you just want to attend a conference without leaving your armchair?
The city of Lyon in southeastern France was the place to find the robot of your dreams during the Innorobo fair, where dozens of companies and research centres presented their latest robotics technology.
Reem C was one of the stars of the show – a 1.65 metre-tall robot designed to navigate in crowded areas and recognise speech, objects and faces.
Its Spanish designers say this humanoid service robot could, in the future, be used to help rescue teams in disaster zones.
“What it’s best at is walking. It is also able to navigate autonomously. It has laser scanners in its feet which allow it to sense the environment, create a map and find its bearings. This means that when it receives an order to go to a specific area it can avoid people and obstacles in its way,” explained robotics engineer Paul Mathieu.
Another robot that attracted much attention at this year’s fair was Beam – a kind of avatar robot, created by Californian company Suitable Tech. It removes the constraints of a screen by coupling video and audio with mobility.
“It’s very easy to use because you have two cameras, one that allows you to navigate thanks to a camera on the robot’s foot, and one that allows you to see all around. In addition, you have your own camera to see yourself, of course, in case you need to check your hair, etc,” said Beam user Laura Cretin.
And finally, Atti is an educational robot that uses a smartphone as its brain. Designed as an education tool for four- to six-year-olds, it is able to dance, sing and see.