New professor wants to make human-friendly robots
We must rethink the way we build robots in order to make them better at interacting with humans, says Kasper Støy, recently appointed Professor in Robotics and Artificial Intelligence at the IT University of Copenhagen. In the future, some robots will be soft - and perhaps made of silicone.
Written 4 October, 2016 09:05 by Vibeke Arildsen
Robots as we know them today are heavy, bulky and made of metal. This is not a problem as long as they are working at the assembly line in a factory. But if we want to exploit their potential for cooperating with humans, we need to rethink the way we build the robots, according to Professor Kasper Støy.
At his professorial inaugural lecture on Friday, October 7, he will discuss how we can build robots in new ways, making them better suited for tasks in for instance the social care sector.
We are in a situation where the technology makes many things possible, but that does not help us if the robots physically do not work in cooperation with humans.
Kasper Støy, Professor
- There is a mismatch between how we build robots today and what we would like to use them for. Robots are typically found in the industry and they are accurate and fast, but also heavy and dangerous. Today we are thinking about using robots to assist the elderly or perform tasks in kindergartens, and in these contexts, the industrial robot will not work, says Kasper Støy.
- We are in a situation where the technology makes many things possible, but that does not help us if the robots physically do not work in cooperation with humans. Some elements of the robots we build today are based on 18th century technology - like metal rods and cogwheels. We have to find a different way of building robots, he continues.
Woven and braided robots
Kasper Støy and his colleagues in Robotics, Evolution and Art Lab at ITU see potential in soft robotics, an emerging field where researchers experiment with building robots from soft materials like silicone. This requires entirely new production methods.
- We would like to weave, knit or weave robots with a structure that humans will feel good being around, which are light, and which are made of materials that don’t hurt you if you bump into them, says Kasper Støy.
He imagines a future in which it will be possible to combine materials with different hardness and tailor robots to precisely the tasks they are going to solve, rather than choosing traditional materials by default.
- Our dream is to create a whole new way of building robots as an alternative to the classic metal skeleton systems, finishes Kasper Støy.
Kasper Støy will give his inaugural lecture The Inadequate Embodiment of Robots on the potential of soft robots on Friday, October 7 from 14-15 in Auditorium 4 at ITU. All are welcome, registration is not required.
Kasper Støy, Professor, phone 7218 5368, email ksty@itu.dk
Vibeke Arildsen, Press Officer, phone 2555 0447, email viar@itu.dk