From Vacuum Cleaners To Advanced Humanoid Robotics

 Robotics  

James Dyson recently announced a £5 million collaboration between the Imperial College London and the vacuum cleaner manufacturer, to develop computer vision programs that will enable robots to move beyond these controlled environments and successfully navigate the real world.

For years, British inventor, entrepreneur and designer James Dyson has shaken well-established industries with novel solutions that outsell the competition.  Now Dyson has laid out his vision for a new era of household humanoid robots that will be able to clean the windows, guard property – and, of course, vacuum the carpet.

The inventor will announce the creation of a new £5 million robotics centre at Imperial College London, and he says a technological revolution is coming that will soon see every home in Britain filled with “robots that understand the world around them”.

In 2001, Dyson's prototype robotic vacuum cleaner - the DC06 - almost made it mass production, but Dyson pulled the product saying it was too heavy and expensive.  Since then iRobot and others have had success in the robotic vacuum cleaner market.

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Dyson said, “My generation believed that the world would be overrun by robots by the year 2014. We have the mechanical and software capabilities, but we still lack understanding – machines that see and think in the way that we do. Mastering this will make our lives easier and lead to previously unthinkable technologies.”

His team of British-based engineers are locked in a race to build the first multi-purpose household android with scientists in Japan, where researchers at Waseda University have already unveiled the Twendy-One robot  (pictured above) that can obey voice commands, cook and provide nursing care.

Image Source - The Sunday Times

And competition also comes from the search engine giant Google, which has recently been on a robotics firm buying spree – including Japanese robotics company Schaft and military manufacturer Boston Dynamics.

Dyson, whose firm employs nearly 2,000 engineers and scientists, told the Sunday Times the new centre would aim to overcome the issue of robotic “vision” – allowing androids to see what is around them and respond accordingly.

He said previous systems of robot vision were too complicated, adding that Dyson is “almost there” in producing an automatic vacuum cleaner with both good navigations skills and good suction.

“You will send up a robot to clean windows. It will know where it is going. It will know how to clean the windows. And it will know when it is finished,” he said.

The entrepreneur wants to expand his company’s workforce to “compete in world trade”, and said that Dyson’s research into small, powerful motors and lighter materials meant it was well-placed to develop the best in robotics technologies.



SOURCE  The Independent

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