Adroid: Using a Collaborative Robot for Hands-on Fabrication

Here is a clever system that lets you rely on the accuracy of a robotic arm when using handheld tools to make things. When you mount a tool to the robot, you can hold and move it directly while relying on Adroid to measure the applied forces to command the robot.

As the researchers explain:

Depending on the tool and scenario, Adroid can selectively restrict certain motions. In the resulting interaction, the robot acts like a virtual “jig” which constrains the tool’s motion; augmenting the user’s accuracy, technique, and strength, while not diminishing their agency during open-ended fabrication tasks.

[HT]