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GelSight sensor lets robots "see" through their hands
Three years ago, we first heard about GelSight – an experimental new system for imaging microscopic objects. At the time, its suggested applications were in fields such as aerospace, forensics, dermatology and biometrics. Now, however, researchers at MIT and Northeastern University have found another use for it. They've incorporated it into an ultra-sensitive tactile sensor for robots.
First of all, here's how MIT's basic GelSight technology works, as described in our previous article ...
A slab of clear, synthetic rubber is initially coated on one side with a layer of metallic paint. When the painted side is then pressed against a surface, it deforms to the shape of that surface. Looking through the opposite, unpainted side of the rubber, one can see the minute contours of the surface, pressing up into the paint. Using cameras and computer algorithms, the system is able to turn those contours into 3D images, that capture details less than one micrometer in depth and approximately two micrometers in width.
The paint is necessary in order to standardize the optical qualities of the surface, so that the system isn't confused by multiple colors or materials.
For the recent study, the team installed a GelSight sensor on one of the gripping surfaces of a Baxter industrial robot's two-pincher gripper. Using its own computer vision system, the robot subsequently identified a USB cable hanging loosely from a hook, and grabbed that cable's plug with its pinchers.
At that point, it used the GelSight sensor to image the USB symbol embossed on one side of the plug. This allowed it to determine the exact orientation of the plug within its gripper. In order to help it do so with more precision, the cube-shaped sensor utilized four differently-colored LEDs, each one shining into the rubber from a different side. By analyzing the relative intensities of the different light colors on various parts of the USB symbol, the sensor was better able to ascertain the plug's three-dimensional positioning relative to the gripper.
The robot then proceeded to move the plug end of the cable over to a USB socket, and successfully inserted it. When the sensor was turned off, however, the robot couldn't get the plug in, since it couldn't tell how it was holding it. That's why robots typically need to have objects precisely set in place for them ahead of time, and why GelSight could allow robots to be much more adaptable when manipulating items in chaotic environments.
According to MIT, the relatively low-resolution GelSight sensor used in the experiments is still about 100 times more sensitive than a human finger. It can be seen in use, in the following video.
Source: MIT
Source: http://www.gizmag.com/gelsight-robot-tactile-sensor/33946/
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Founded by Russian entrepreneur Dmitry Itskov in February 2011 with the participation of leading Russian specialists in the field of neural interfaces, robotics, artificial organs and systems.
The main goals of the 2045 Initiative: the creation and realization of a new strategy for the development of humanity which meets global civilization challenges; the creation of optimale conditions promoting the spiritual enlightenment of humanity; and the realization of a new futuristic reality based on 5 principles: high spirituality, high culture, high ethics, high science and high technologies.
The main science mega-project of the 2045 Initiative aims to create technologies enabling the transfer of a individual’s personality to a more advanced non-biological carrier, and extending life, including to the point of immortality. We devote particular attention to enabling the fullest possible dialogue between the world’s major spiritual traditions, science and society.
A large-scale transformation of humanity, comparable to some of the major spiritual and sci-tech revolutions in history, will require a new strategy. We believe this to be necessary to overcome existing crises, which threaten our planetary habitat and the continued existence of humanity as a species. With the 2045 Initiative, we hope to realize a new strategy for humanity's development, and in so doing, create a more productive, fulfilling, and satisfying future.
The "2045" team is working towards creating an international research center where leading scientists will be engaged in research and development in the fields of anthropomorphic robotics, living systems modeling and brain and consciousness modeling with the goal of transferring one’s individual consciousness to an artificial carrier and achieving cybernetic immortality.
An annual congress "The Global Future 2045" is organized by the Initiative to give platform for discussing mankind's evolutionary strategy based on technologies of cybernetic immortality as well as the possible impact of such technologies on global society, politics and economies of the future.
Future prospects of "2045" Initiative for society
2015-2020
The emergence and widespread use of affordable android "avatars" controlled by a "brain-computer" interface. Coupled with related technologies “avatars’ will give people a number of new features: ability to work in dangerous environments, perform rescue operations, travel in extreme situations etc.
Avatar components will be used in medicine for the rehabilitation of fully or partially disabled patients giving them prosthetic limbs or recover lost senses.
2020-2025
Creation of an autonomous life-support system for the human brain linked to a robot, ‘avatar’, will save people whose body is completely worn out or irreversibly damaged. Any patient with an intact brain will be able to return to a fully functioning bodily life. Such technologies will greatly enlarge the possibility of hybrid bio-electronic devices, thus creating a new IT revolution and will make all kinds of superimpositions of electronic and biological systems possible.
2030-2035
Creation of a computer model of the brain and human consciousness with the subsequent development of means to transfer individual consciousness onto an artificial carrier. This development will profoundly change the world, it will not only give everyone the possibility of cybernetic immortality but will also create a friendly artificial intelligence, expand human capabilities and provide opportunities for ordinary people to restore or modify their own brain multiple times. The final result at this stage can be a real revolution in the understanding of human nature that will completely change the human and technical prospects for humanity.
2045
This is the time when substance-independent minds will receive new bodies with capacities far exceeding those of ordinary humans. A new era for humanity will arrive! Changes will occur in all spheres of human activity – energy generation, transportation, politics, medicine, psychology, sciences, and so on.
Today it is hard to imagine a future when bodies consisting of nanorobots will become affordable and capable of taking any form. It is also hard to imagine body holograms featuring controlled matter. One thing is clear however: humanity, for the first time in its history, will make a fully managed evolutionary transition and eventually become a new species. Moreover, prerequisites for a large-scale expansion into outer space will be created as well.
Key elements of the project in the future
• International social movement
• social network immortal.me
• charitable foundation "Global Future 2045" (Foundation 2045)
• scientific research centre "Immortality"
• business incubator
• University of "Immortality"
• annual award for contribution to the realization of the project of "Immortality”.
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