BAXTER: FROM FACTORY BOT TO ASSISTIVE ROBOT

First of a Kind Robot Could Become Next Generation Care Bot

Baxter, from Rethink Robotics first captured our attention when it was launched back in 2012. It was the first industrial robot to be passed safe for work alongside humans on the production line. Sporting a friendly and interactive face and a pair of red colored dexterous arms, Baxter made an instant impact. Now, its unique qualities are being put to good use in a completely different way.

David Whalen was still only a young man when he was involved in a life changing car crash, and subsequently left a quadriplegic. Without the use of his arms or legs, even basic tasks that most of us take for granted, remained out of his grasp. Fortunately, his innovative nature has allowed him to work around his condition. Whalen has teamed up with John Wen of the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in New York, US to convert Baxter into a mobile helper robot. They have fused Baxter with an electric wheelchair that can be controlled by a device known as Jamboxx. It is a digital, breath-controlled device that was originally developed by Whalen so who he could play music. Using the Baxter-hybrid, Whalen can fetch and unscrew jars, pick items off the ground and even fold clothes.

Wen is due to present his work at the Conference on Automation Science and Engineering in Taiwan, this August. This type of assistive robot could soon become a common sight in homes around the world, and it is thanks to innovators like David Whalen and John Wen that such advances will be made.