Japanese Firms Start Testing Robots In Office Buildings
February 7, 2009 by John Messina
Smart Guide robot developed by Yasukawa Electric Corp.
(PhysOrg.com) -- It may not be too long before visitors are greeted by a robotic receptionist in Japanese Smart Office Buildings. Shimizu Corp and Yasukawa Electric Corp have opened the "Smart Showroom" that is part of the Smart Robotics Building Project, which will demonstrate the use of Smart Robots in intelligent buildings.
The project is designed to provide various services by combining building infrastructure technologies and robot technologies. Robots will take on the role of receptionist, guards, office cleaners, etc and replace humans. For example, in the role of a receptionist, they will greet visitors, attend to them and show them to their destination.
In the first step of the project, Shimizu Corp is responsible for the infrastructure technologies and Yasukawa Electric Corp developed the Smart Guide. In the Smart Showroom both companies, utilizing their technologies, demonstrates how the robot attends to visitors, takes care of all their needs, and sees them off.
This concept is not meant to rely on robots for all functions but would be a combination of all technologies with the intervention of humans for device control, information and telecommunication technologies. All this will be centrally located within the building so that the robots, operating in the building, can be tracked so that multiple robots can share work load in a large area.
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Oct 13, 2009 |
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And yes, they are ridiculous. However they are incremental steps, each building on the successes of the steps before them, and as such are entirely necessary if we are to achieve any of the unrealized potential that robotics hold.