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February 1, 2010

HERB, the Robot Butler


His name is HERB and he’s a robotic butler designed to open doors, clean tables and even retrieve your slippers. He doesn't look as human as his Japanese counterparts but HERB has a bigger brain according to its developer Siddhartha Srinivasa at Intel Labs located on the campus of Carnegie Mellon University. With funding from the National Science Foundation, HERB is being programmed to think and function on its own and to navigate unknown environments. So, if you tell HERB to perform a task, he should be able to figure out how to do it by himself. Built on a Segway platform with human-like arms, HERB is designed to one day offer more independence to the elderly and the disabled.

Credit: National Science Foundation


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