It was in 2011 when we first brought you word of Willow Garage’s PR2 robot, where it could be flexible enough to be able to fold your clothes – a definite time saver for all you bachelors out there for sure. Well, it seems that the PR2 robot has just added another potential action item that it would impress the masses with, with the fact that an anticipatory algorithm would enable the PR2 robot to refill your empty glass the moment you are thirsting for another round of booze. The folks over at Cornell University’s Personal Robotics Lab were the ones who trained this PR2 robot from Willow Garage, helping it figure out just where and when to pour beer, in addition to the other actions which require anticipation.
The PR2 robot is ably assisted by a Kinect 3D camera and a database of 3D videos to help it carry out its task. While such a robot will not be replacing your friendly neighborhood bartender anytime soon, it could end up being an assistant to bartenders during those crazy and busy nights, where there is a special corner dedicated to allow the more quiet folks out there drown their sorrows all by themselves. Nothing is still 100%, but there is definitely plenty of room for improvement down the road.
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