We did talk about a trainable robotic arm just yesterday, and here we are with yet another piece about a robot arm. This particular robot arm is not something that you will be able to download and print using a 3D printer for yourself, as it hails from the good people over at Toyota. Known as the Toyota Torque Servo robot arm, it is currently on display at the International Robot Exhibition 2013 in Tokyo, where it happens to be controlled by the physical touch of the operator instead of taking the more “normal” route of a keyboard or a joystick.
Using the operator’s physical touch, this opens up a whole new world of possibilities, as it enables the operator to physically specify movements. The arm is smart enough to respond in a quick, smooth and flexible manner, where it can also be trained to maintain a certain “hand” position, never mind that the upper arm or the elbow is moved as well. Not only that, should the arm come into contact with someone by accident, it will automatically make an attempt to cushion the impact. Talk about it being useful if it were to see action in restaurants! That might just see the end of spilled drinks by waiters.
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