MIT researchers recently unveiled a next-gen adaptive robotic helper--a wide-eyed humanoid called Domo--who could someday be used to help the elderly, assist workers on an assembly line, and in general perform all those tasks we'd rather not be bothered with on a day-to-day basis.

Aaron Edsinger, an MIT postdoctoral associate who has been working on Domo for the last three years, says that he is designed to interact with humans and manipulate unknown objects, and can doing things such as grasp objects and place them on shelves or counters.

"The real potential of robots in the future is going to be realized when they can do many types of manual tasks, including those that require interaction with humans," Edsinger said.

He added that while there are now plenty of robots doing manual work on factory assembly lines, they generally all follow a script or set of specific functions, and can't adapt to new situations, as Domo can.

Hmmm, sounds a lot like MIT is well on its way to developing a fleet of robot slaves to me. No word yet on whether Domo will be programmed to obey the Three Laws of Robotics.

Post by Bryan Gardiner