By: Rob Verger
May 23, 2019
Imagine you’re lifting a couch with a friend. You’re both at opposite ends, and need to communicate as to when to heft it up. You could go for it at the count of three, or maybe, if you’re mentally in sync, with a nod of the head.
Now let’s say you’re doing the same with a robot— what’s the best way to tell it what to do, and when? Roboticists at MIT have created a mechanical system that can help humans lift objects, and it works by directly reading the electric signals produced by a person’s biceps.
It’s a noteworthy approach because their method is not the standard way that most people interact with technology. We’re used to talking to assistants like Alexa or Siri, tapping on smartphones, or using a keyboard, mouse, or trackpad. Or, the Google Nest Hub Max, a smart home tablet with a camera, can notice a hand gesture indicating “stop” that a user makes when they want to do something like pause a video. Meanwhile, robot cars—autonomous vehicles—perceive their surroundings through instruments like lasers, cameras, and radar units.