The Australian National Museum together with the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation or CSIRO are working on a robot that will enable students to examine exhibits from different angles in a museum. According to the Sydney Morning Herald, the telepresence robot is expected to begin full operation in November this year. The robot, reportedly still a prototype, has the height of an average adult and will be equipped with a motorized base, with wheels and a 360-degree head sporting a panoramic camera.
The team behind the project explained that the robot will have the capability to find its way around the museum and avoid bumping into visitors and objects, thanks to its sensors and global positioning system. The robot’s camera can reportedly transmit many views of an object simultaneously so that users can control what they want to see. The robot will be tested for six months and might be used commercially next year.
By November, the robot will be used by students, who will each control the robot’s camera head using computers. Jonathan Roberts, Research Director of the Autonomous Systems Laboratory at CSIRO, said that the robot could change the way schools interact with institutions like the museum. “Students usually have long field trips, but with this sort of thing, they can visit a place for 45 minutes without having to leave the classroom,” Roberts explained. Unfortunately, information about the said robot is limited. But rest assured, we’ll update you as soon as we’ll hear more about it.
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