A project called “An Expedition in Computing Printable Programmable Machines” at MIT is working to create a future where you can print robots as easily and efficiently as Kinko’s makes copies.
The National Science Foundation (NSF) is backing the project with $10 million that will hopefully last through the projected 5 year timeline and allow consumers to design, customize, and print their very own robots. So, by 2017 you’ll be able to walk into a retail store and order one of MIT’s paper robots to,
perhaps, check out what that smell is behind the dishwasher a la Mars rover style.
Two of these origami prototypes–one which resembles a pincer and the other an insect–have already been produced in MIT’s research labs. The entire process takes all of 70 minutes and $100 to build, which is a huge jump from the years and Benjamins it takes to build any other robot currently. But aside from making the device marketable to the masses, there’s also the issue of building them to be durable enough in software and in hardware to withstand the test of a novice robot-operator.
The team needs to create a streamlined program that’s broad enough to suit a variety of needs, while assuring that if there is a user error it doesn’t cause the device to malfunction. They also need to create something that’s disposable, but not flimsily constructed. Ideally, consumers would be able to visit a website in order to diagnose their household woes, select a model at a local store to help with said problem, and customize the robot.
Professor Daniela Rus, leader of the project at MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL), sees this project as a way to “ democratize access to robots.” Something that has been a niche product could very well become as easily obtainable as a mobile phone, if successful.
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