Researchers from the Biorobotics Laboratory at the Ecole Polytechnique Federal de Lausanne (EFPL) in Switzerland have created a group of modular shape-changing robots called Roombots that are 3D reconfigurable, meaning they can change shapes and in this case, would be come adaptive furniture.
The whole idea, the researchers admit, sounds a little crazy, was to create furniture that would literally change shape over time to fit the person's needs who was using it. A table could become a chair and vice versa.
Modular robots are very simple robotic modules that can attach and detach themselves.
In addition to changing shapes, connected Roombots could also move around the room to different locations. And, when you don't want that occasional table anymore the Roombots could change shape and create a static structure like a wall.
Photo courtesy of Biorobotics Laboratory, EPFL. Rendered vision of a table being assembled by... [+]
A lot of the prototype technology in robotics has direct and more immediate applications to people with assistive needs or the elderly who are living longer than before. The Roombot could be used as assistive furniture for the elderly or for people with a motor handicap.
And that idea is now a reality. With a grant from the Swiss National Science Foundation, the researchers can now put this idea into action and will create multifunctional and assistive robotic furniture to interact with users. The Roombots will help them recover from a fall, monitor their health, and help them move between different positions and manipulate objects.
Even though Ray Kurzweil, the leading expert on AI and
