TMSUK-4 - A robot that can shop on a cellphone's call
Robots have changed the way we live our lives. This is especially true in a country like Japan where robots are big business. With robots that can sing, and robots that can run errands like chopping the vegetables, robotic technology has become more sophisticated as well as realistic. The latest from this branch of technology is a telerobotic shopper. This robot actually can go shop for you, instead of you having to wade through rows and columns of products at a supermarket. The modified TMSUK-4 is a humanoid robot and uses many aspects of cellphone technology. What is being termed as 3D communications, this technology allows you to use your cellphone to watch and guide the robot to shop what you need while you relax in the comfort of your home.
The tmsuk robot was demonstrated at a department store in Kitakyushu, Japan. An aged lady sent her young grand daughter along with the robot to the supermarket and used her NTT DoCoMo video-capable cellphone to control the robot and view the products through the robot's eyes. The woman maneuvered the robot to the hat section, and made the robot select the models she liked while the grand daughter acted as the model, trying all the hats, before deciding which one she liked the best.
This technology could change the way we shop. It mustn't be surprising if one saw robotic shoppers on the Rodeo Drive or on Avenue Des Champs Elysees in the future.
Via: PinkTentacle
