Care-O-bot 4 Is the Robot Servant We All Want but Probably Can't Afford
From: IEEE Spectrum - 01/29/2015
By: Evan Ackerman

The most interesting feature of Fraunhofer's Care-O-bot 4 (besides the dual
arms and their jaunty motion) is its modularity. The robot is constructed out
of five modules: base, torso, arms, sensor ring, and head. Each one of these
modules can be swapped out depending on what you want the robot to do (and
what your budget is).

For example, you can swap out the wheeled base for one that can move
omnidirectionally. A spherical torso joint option allows the robot to bend
over, if you want that. The sensor ring in the neck can come with a Kinect, a
fancier time-of-flight sensor, or a custom one of your choice. And the head
can be fixed, panning, or another spherical joint.

Fraunhofer says that in contrast to the previous generations of Care-O-bots,
which were primarily technology development platforms, Care-O-bot 4 is
"providing the basis for commercial service robot solutions."

Read the entire article and view videos (4:15 [German] and 1:25)
http://spectrum.ieee.org/automaton/robotics/home-robots/care-o-bot-4-mobile-manipulator

Links:
Care-O-bot 4
http://www.care-o-bot-4.de/

New modular Care-O-bot generation released: Care-O-bot 4
http://www.ros.org/news/2015/01/new-modular-care-o-bot-generation-released-care-o-bot-4.html