The Italian Institute of Technology (IIT) is celebrating the 20th anniversary of its foundation with a new humanoid robot that is a 'friend' of workers.
The new robot is called ergoCub and is based on the same platform as the iCub humanoid child.
It was designed with special attention to ergonomics in order to facilitate integration into work environments and physical cooperation with people.
Created from a five-million-euro three-year project launched with workplace-accidents-and-illness-insurance agency Inail in 2021, it made its official debut at IIT's Auditorium in Genoa.
ErgoCub is 150 centimeters high, weighs 55.7 kilos, its hands are optimized to carry heavy loads and its flexible Oled display enables it to have more expressive interactions.
It also has a special camera for depth vision and lidar for navigation.
It has a stronger stride than the previous versions of iCub and can reach a walk speed of around three kilometers an hour, comparable with that of a human being.
Artificial intelligence enables it to visually identify objects and actions and to handle an object with both hands in work settings where cooperation with a human being is required.
For example, ergoCub can tell when someone wants to hand it an object, take that object with its hands and give it back to the person when necessary.
The ergoCub technology is completed with a sensor suit (including a pair of shoes) to monitor that efforts of the body movements of the wearer in real time.
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