Mmmm tentacle robots, somewhat more distributed than humanoids... "a new type of soft, robotic gripper that uses a collection of thin tentacles to entangle and ensnare objects, similar to how jellyfish collect stunned prey. Alone, individual tentacles, or filaments, are weak. But together, the collection of filaments can grasp and securely hold heavy and oddly shaped objects. The gripper relies on simple inflation to wrap around objects and doesn’t require sensing, planning, or feedback control." https://seas.harvard.edu/news/tentacle-robot-can-gently-grasp-fragile-objects
It’s a fascinating design, isn’t it? It’s the kind of engineering that’s truly thinking outside the box, and I am so here for it.
In the future, I imagine we completely redesign all our spaces to take advantage of whichever designs are the most efficient.
An example I like is laundry. We all need to do it, but most of us find it to be a boring time sink.
Right now we have the common washer/dryer combo and then maybe a cabinet for supplies and maybe a table for folding the laundry. Maybe this lives in your mud room, or your garage, or a separate room/closet.
That takes a sizeable footprint.
Most current robotics companies today will tell you the humanoid is the design you’re looking for. Because we made the world to suit us. And that’s true, but it doesn’t mean it’s the best design.
What if the whole thing could be compressed into the footprint of a small closet?
Let’s talk through a ceiling-mounted gantry-style robot. We’ll stick with the tentacle example because it’s weird, but it would work.
Clothes go in through a window at one end of the laundry room. The tentacle robot loads the washer, or maybe you load it into the laundry machine from the outside yourself and everything else is handled internally.
After washing and drying the ceiling-mounted robot sorts the clothes and folds them and then delivers them to you on the other side.
Is this better than what we have now?
Not sure. That’ll depend on up front costs and maintenance. But it’s doable.
Mmmm tentacle robots, somewhat more distributed than humanoids... "a new type of soft, robotic gripper that uses a collection of thin tentacles to entangle and ensnare objects, similar to how jellyfish collect stunned prey. Alone, individual tentacles, or filaments, are weak. But together, the collection of filaments can grasp and securely hold heavy and oddly shaped objects. The gripper relies on simple inflation to wrap around objects and doesn’t require sensing, planning, or feedback control." https://seas.harvard.edu/news/tentacle-robot-can-gently-grasp-fragile-objects
Better at it than I am, anyway 🤷♂️
It’s a fascinating design, isn’t it? It’s the kind of engineering that’s truly thinking outside the box, and I am so here for it.
In the future, I imagine we completely redesign all our spaces to take advantage of whichever designs are the most efficient.
An example I like is laundry. We all need to do it, but most of us find it to be a boring time sink.
Right now we have the common washer/dryer combo and then maybe a cabinet for supplies and maybe a table for folding the laundry. Maybe this lives in your mud room, or your garage, or a separate room/closet.
That takes a sizeable footprint.
Most current robotics companies today will tell you the humanoid is the design you’re looking for. Because we made the world to suit us. And that’s true, but it doesn’t mean it’s the best design.
What if the whole thing could be compressed into the footprint of a small closet?
Let’s talk through a ceiling-mounted gantry-style robot. We’ll stick with the tentacle example because it’s weird, but it would work.
Clothes go in through a window at one end of the laundry room. The tentacle robot loads the washer, or maybe you load it into the laundry machine from the outside yourself and everything else is handled internally.
After washing and drying the ceiling-mounted robot sorts the clothes and folds them and then delivers them to you on the other side.
Is this better than what we have now?
Not sure. That’ll depend on up front costs and maintenance. But it’s doable.
Perhaps the tentacles would be better at folding laundry at least!