It’s annoying to forget where you’ve put your smartphone. PhoneBot could fix that problem. It’s not what the little humanoid(ish) robot’s creators at UCLA intended, but it’s the first thing we thought of when we saw the little guy.
Researchers at the American university have built a humanoid robot that uses an old smartphone as its brain and vision centre. In theory, this makes for a relatively affordable robot for research. In practice, we could totally see these being sold in stores to consumers. As kits. It’s no fun if they’re pre-built.
Come, PhoneBot
PhoneBot, according to its creators’ arXiv paper, is “a low-cost, open-source humanoid robot platform that repurposes commodity smartphones as its primary sensing and computing unit.” Basically, it’s a phone with legs. Those legs will still cost R6,600 ($400) to build, and there’s programming work to be done, but you’d wind up with a 48cm tall robot that can roam… wherever you put it.
The experimental bot can walk, follow people around, and even lift itself off the floor if it topples over. It’s even workable using old smartphones, so you needn’t give up the good hardware. But there are still obstacles to overcome. PhoneBot doesn’t have arms (yet), and it’s not designed for roaming varied terrain. It’ll move over a desk or floor, but stairs aren’t an option. Nor are bumpy surfaces. Its creators also hope to get more voice control options working on the platform. Ordering it around sounds much easier than issuing typed commands over a Wi-Fi network.
While Stuff has visions of a commercial model, designed to show us notifications, that’s not the plan for this critter. It’s envisioned as an alternative to more expensive robot platforms, to teach fundamentals to students and others. Hobbyists would also likely be welcome. That’s the thing about open-source. Anyone can build them, as long as they have the time and inclination.
