PROJECTS
The robot, which will be guiding visitors around the IK4-TEKNIKER stand, is an ideal demonstrator of the centre’s expertise in various robotic technologies.
Robots are heading out of the factories. It is no longer strange to find them in hospitals, museums and even in our own homes, where they help with the domestic chores.
Aware of this burgeoning market, IK4-TEKNIKER has put its presentation at the Machine Tool Biennial –from 2 to 7 June at the BEC in Barakaldo– in the hands of the robot guide, its latest robotic development for service purposes. The robot, which will be guiding visitors around the IK4-TEKNIKER stand, is an ideal demonstrator of the centre’s expertise in various robotic technologies.
Autonomous navigation gives this robot guide the capacity to move around complex environments occupied by people without having to be externally guided. That is why it is capable of navigating in environments that are not specially adapted to its features, are not known in advance, are continually changing and have a considerable human presence.
Interaction with people
The robot is designed to interact with humans by means of the fusion of various sources of sensorial information, but its systems are specifically designed to guarantee safety. This is a critical aspect in service robotics, because robots have to move around environments in which there are people and interact with them safely.
Safety
The robot guide is equipped with safety mechanisms on various levels. Apart from the emergency stop system, it has a system of contact sensors that are activated should the robot crash into an object or a person. The system halts the robot, which is activated once again when the contact is no longer felt.
Robotic research
A unit of this robot, called the kTBot, has been working since last year at the Eureka! Science Museum, where it receives the visitors, guides them around the various rooms and navigates autonomously while interacting with people.
IK4-TEKNIKER’s Autonomous and Intelligent Systems Unit has broad experience in the development of robotised solutions and is currently working on 5 European projects in the field of robotics. Furthermore, on behalf of the IK4 Alliance, it is a founder member of the Steering Committee of euRobotics aisbl, the body that advises the European Commission on robotics research.
