VR-Controlled Robot Wins Competition by Completing 10 Tasks Under 6 Minutes - ExtremeTech

XPrize, an enactment known for its incentivized tech challenges, hosted a $10 cardinal contention connected Saturday inviting robotics companies from astir the satellite to amusement disconnected their telepresence technology. Seventeen teams demonstrated their ain takes connected the “Avatar robot,” a instrumentality that allows distant individuals to pass and run successful a determination different than their own. At the extremity of the day, the Autonomous Intelligent Systems radical from Germany’s University of Bonn took location a $5 cardinal prize for NimbRo, a robot controlled via virtual world (VR) headset and exoskeletal arms.

NimbRo itself is made up of a humanoid robotic torso with 2 Panda arms, each susceptible of carrying astir 6.6 pounds. The “head” consists of a tablet and 2 cameras mounted betwixt the shoulders, the second of which streams 4K video to the relation astatine 45 hertz. The torso is mounted connected a holonomic level with 4 omnidirectional wheels, which alteration NimbRo to determination astatine a maximum of 1.5 meters per second.

The relation provides their carnal and verbal inputs from a abstracted location. An HTC Vive Pro headset tracks the operator’s oculus movements, portion 2 SenseGlove exoskeleton haptic enactment devices seizure adjacent the slightest manus movements, allowing NimbRo’s digit joints to determination successful tandem with the operator’s. The operator’s question information (as good arsenic the visuals captured connected NimbRo’s cameras) is transmitted done a azygous Ethernet and powerfulness tether astatine 1 gigabit per second. As the relation moves, truthful does NimbRo, bringing the distant relation “to life” successful a carnal abstraction they wouldn’t different beryllium capable to occupy.

NimbRo didn’t conscionable person to show its carnal capabilities connected Saturday—it besides had to beryllium comparatively intuitive, since a justice was operating it alternatively of idiosyncratic from the Autonomous Intelligent Systems team. In beforehand of much than 2,000 virtual and in-person assemblage members, NimbRo performed each 10 task challenges successful conscionable nether six minutes, cutting the second-place team’s clip astir successful half. Task challenges included interacting with a human, utilizing an electrical drill to unscrew a metallic panel, and obtaining prime items from a retention area. NimbRo adjacent did a small creation aft completing the past task.

“NimbRo’s enactment demonstrates the singular imaginable of avatar exertion to transcend clip and region and assistance code urgent quality challenges, from wellness attraction entree to catastrophe relief,” said XPrize CEO Anousheh Ansari successful a statement.

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