Robotics isn’t a new field, but as the problems of modern society grow, so do the ideas for potential solutions. How about modular robots that can not only assemble themselves but team up to take the shape of furniture? Or how about manipulating existing furniture to help those who need some assistance in their homes?
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These little cubes are called Roombots and they are a part of the research done at the EPFL (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne). They state, “the type of applications of such robots could be multiple: assistive furniture for the elderly or for people with a motor handicap, programmable conference rooms, interactive art, satellite or space station elements…”.
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In my books, this is not just a sci-fi gadget. I think this sort of technology could enable many solutions for all kinds of use cases. Of course, this could make our living spaces a whole lot more futuristic, but it has the potential to address a large number of problems that maybe not all of us have, but some of us.
YouTube: Roombots – Self-reconfigurable modular robots for adaptive and assistive furniture
Photo credit: The feature image has been done by Biorobotics Laboratory, EPFL.
