2011: The Year of the Personal Robot?
From: Scientific American - 01/04/2011
By: Larry Greenemeier 

Willow Garage's PR2 personal robot platform, released last year, could lead
to new advances in robotic technology. "There are a lot of innovations in the
PR2, but the most significant thing from my perspective is that it is a
standardized, well-designed, well-tested platform that has a whole bunch of
software that works right out of the box," says Georgia Tech professor
Charles Kemp. Kemp and his researchers are one of 16 teams that experimented
with the PR2 in 2010. The Georgia Tech researchers are focused on creating
robots that can help care for senior citizens by opening doors and retrieving
objects. Meanwhile, Samsung Electronics is using the PR2 to help develop the
company's robotics research. And the Bosch Research and Technology Center has
launched a two-year project to equip PR2-based robots with its sensor
technology, including microelectromechanical systems, accelerometers,
gyroscopes, force sensors, and air-pressure sensors. Future robots will play
a crucial role in the aware home, says Georgia Tech professor Wendy Rogers,
who is working with Kemp. "We'll be looking to determine what tasks older
adults, over 65, are open to having done in the house, and then Charlie's
team is going to program its PR2 to do those tasks."  

Read the entire article at:
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=personal-robot-research

Links:
Willow Garage
http://www.willowgarage.com/

Charles Kemp
http://www.hsi.gatech.edu/cckemp/

Wendy Rogers
http://www.psychology.gatech.edu/people/faculty/rogers_wendy.php

Samsung Snags Willow Garage's PR2 Robot
http://www.fastcompany.com/1710096/samsung-one-of-first-customers-to-snag-willow-garages-pr2-robot