MIT is known around the world for their advancements in robot technology and now they have added one more robot to their list of innovative machines. At long last, beer delivery robots have been created, which come to the aid of those who don’t want to remove themselves from the couch long enough to grab a beer from the fridge. While the innovation may seem trivial at first glance, in this case there is definitely more to the project than simply robots delivering beer.
Who Are These Robots Serving Drinks?
It takes more than one robot bartender serving the drinks to put cold beers in the hands of thirsty adults. Three robots have been chosen to be a part of this special MIT project. They include the PR2 robot bartender, and the two smaller turtlebots who deliver the beer to its destination. The smaller turtlebots go from room to room taking drink orders, after which they roll over to the bartender robot who passes them the beverages. They accurately deliver the drinks back to the human who requested the drink, and then asses if any other drinks are needed.
For Scientists at MIT It’s About More Than Just a Robot Bartender
Without putting a lot of thought into the beer delivering robots, it may seem like MIT has created some useless technology to allow beer delivery without ever leaving the couch, but in fact this technology could prove to be one of the more useful innovations across a wide variety of fields in centuries.
These robots could distribute medical supplies in a triage amidst an ongoing war, deliver items to their proper shelfs in a supermarket, or serve as wait staff in a busy restaurant. MIT recognizes the key to this innovation, and perhaps the future of robotics, is communication between robots as has never been seen before. Lead author of the paper describing the MIT invention, Chris Amato, describes exactly what the difficulties are in creating beer delivering robots, “As for outcomes, a robot may drop items when trying to pick them up or take longer than expected to navigate. And, on top of that, robots often are not able to communicate with one another, either because of communication noise or because they are out of range.”
MIT has developed a variety of algorithms, and in applying them to this advanced robotic technology, have allowed the robots to more easily communicate with one another while handling any number of complex tasks with no mistakes. You can watch the robots serve up drinks here.
Be Sure to Tip Your Robot Bartender
Thanks to MIT and their innovative team of researchers, the dreaded trip to the fridge to grab a beer may soon be a thing of the past, but that’s not all that these robots can do. A beer run is a perfect example of how these robot bartenders can communicate with each other, but the benefits of having beer transporting robots in countless important scenarios are only just beginning to be seen.
