Blue - Berkeley's Human Safe Robot
Safe Robotic Co-Worker Source: UC Berkeley's Blue Learns on the Job with Humans The roboticists at the University of California Berkeley call it Project Blue. Blue robot is AI enabled and can safety learn tasks while working side by side with humans. It learns by reinforcement learning or trial and error. The Berkeley team has created what they call a "human safe" robot. Weaker Robot is a Better Robot The team worked on the premise that the stronger the robot the more dangerous it can be to humans. When a robot makes a mistake, it can damage itself and people nearby. As a result, Blue features flexible plastic arms with rounded edges that can be easily pushed away. The team purposefully designed a weak robot that can perform significant, useful tasks because "weaker is safer". Low Cost The team says Blue is a low-cost, backdrivable, 7-DOF robotic manipulator. The robot not only safely works side by side with humans. It can also make...