MIT finds lost items with a robotic arm
Marie Donlon | October 15, 2021Scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have built a robotic arm that is capable of finding lost objects.
The robotic arm, dubbed RFusion, features a gripper, a camera and an RF antenna that together can locate concealed items featuring radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags, which are battery free tags that send signals to the robot’s antenna.
Source: MIT
When attached to commonly lost objects such as keys or credit cards, the RFID tags receive and subsequently bounce off signals sent from the RFusion’s antenna, revealing the location of the tagged object. Because RF signals are capable of traveling through the majority of surfaces, they can also be used to trace RFID tagged objects concealed under objects like clothing, for instance.
The RFusion also uses a reinforcement learning algorithm to further narrow down the location of an object. The researchers report that during testing, the RFusion located such items with a success rate of 96%.
The MIT scientists suggest that the RFusion robotic arm could potentially be used for fulfilling warehouse orders, for identifying and installing electronic or automotive components in a manufacturing setting, or for elder care applications.
For more information about the RFusion, watch the accompanying video that appears courtesy of MIT.
I recall that on the market there are devices one attached to your keys or important items and with a simple clap of the hands the lost item beeps so that you can locate it. A fraction of the price of a robot. Now we have these clever youngsters inventing expensive robots to do the same thing. I am sure granny Smith would love this robot if she could recall how to use it.
Is there a good justifiable reason that so much money is being spent on education that we need to reinvent the wheel at higher cost or do we actually need to be so damned lazy and useless as a species. It boggles my mind that these toys are invented for the assumed good of mankind when so many are seeking work. No wonder aliens don't visit earth. They are looking for intelligent life and there is bugger all here on earth.