ROBOT OF THE WEEK: CATCH THE BALL
by Hazed
Those fun-loving people at Disney have come up with a way to make their animatronic figures interact with humans without actually touching them: they play catch.
These new robots can throw a ball back and forth with a human, and even juggle several balls with a person. The catching and throwing have been tested with six different people (including a child) and the juggling with three skilled jugglers.
The scientists responsible for the new throwing/catching robots have built in some “animations” for when the robot misses a catch: it shrugs its shoulders, shakes its head or looks down at the missed ball.
Right now the robot is just a metal frame - it’s slightly reminiscent of a Terminator. But once it’s covered in skin and dressed up, it’s going to be really lifelike.
Watch a video of the catching robot in action.
Bonus robot of the week: robot buttocks used to test mobile phone.
