Rethink Robotics Announces Baxter

Posted 19 Sep 2012 at 18:16 UTC by steve

Rodney Brooks founded Rethink Robotics in 2008. After a lot of R&D, they're ready to release their first robot, named Baxter. What makes Baxter different than all the other industrial robots out there? Baxter is behaviour-based and adapts automatically to the environment as he tries to understand the user's expectations. Basically, Baxter has a little more common sense than your typical industrial robot. There's no traditional programming process; instead, a non-technical user can teach Baxter a new task using a GUI and by directly moving the robot's arms. Baxter even has a primordial hint of Asimov's laws in the form of subsumptive safety measures that make the usual safety cage around the robot's working area unnecessary. As humans approach the robot, it detects their presence and moves more slowly and carefully to avoid hurting them. Baxter is made in the US and part of Rethink's marketing strategy is to convince US companies that might otherwise send their manufacturing off-shore, that Baxter can make US manufacturing competitive for them again. And, like most modern, socially interactive robots, Baxter is equipped with prominently displayed non-human eyes to creep you out. Read on for more photos and video of Baxter in action.


Baxter, the robot with common sense


Rethink Robotic's official marketing video



Baxter working on the assembly line.

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Baxter taking control

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