Robots are getting smarter all the time. They are already getting good at navigating unstructured environments. Researches at MIT CSAIL have come up with a system that allows robots to precisely move objects they have never seen before.
These robots can take on various pick & place tasks, so they can assist people in a variety of ways in their home. Existing robots can pick many objects up but they can’t put them down in a meaningful way. Here is how KRAM is different:
KPAM detects a collection of coordinates (“keypoints”) on an object. These coordinates provide all the information the robot needs to determine what to do with that object. As opposed to pose-based methods, keypoints can naturally handle variation among a particular type of object, like a mug or a shoe.
You can find out more about this project here.
