Sci-fi movies and TV shows have given us a glimpse of the future where robots will eventually set their sights on eradicating humans. It’s just one possible outcome though. As this robot developed by Lands Work demonstrates, our inevitable artificial companions might actually be far gentler than we fear.
Designed to carefully and gingerly handle tofu in a factory, this robot uses a computer-controlled camera system to first determine the orientation of a block of bean curd, and then calculate the safest way to move it from one conveyor belt to another. The robot even knows a slow approach is the best way to handle a brick of tofu without destroying it, so there’s hope that one day instead of deadly killing machines, the robots we develop might be the ideal nannie-borgs. [DigInfo TV]