the japanese institute atr [alt] created a crowd-monitoring [alt] humanoid service robot [alt] that recognises and assists when people are lost.
in a series of demonstrations conducted from 22-24 january, a modified atr robovie monitored people as they passed through a 100 square meter section of the universal citywalk osaka shopping center. relying on data from 16 cameras, 6 laser range finders and 9 rfid tag readers installed in and around the area, the robot was able to watch up to 20 people at a time, pinpoint their locations to within a few centimeters, and classify each individual’s behavior into one of 10 categories [waiting, wandering, walking fast, running, etc.]. whenever robovie spotted people who looked disoriented, the child-sized droid wheeled up to them to assist.
read more [ 1 - alt][ 2 ].
in june, the institute plans to start hiring out its machines to companies toying with the idea of employing robots.
