Toyota’s Human Support Robot, or HSR, is the newest robot. HSR is meant to do various jobs in the house such as open curtains, pick up objects and keep your house tidy. It is basically a retractable arm on wheels with a video screen on top and two large camera eyes that give it the rudiments of a face.
Since 2004 Toyota has been experimenting with robots, when it unveiled a trumpet-playing humanoid with artificial lips, lungs and movable fingers that could accompany an actual human orchestra.
Toyota spent a billion dollars in 2015 to open its AI-focused Toyota Research Institute in Silicon Valley. Last year, it set up a $100 million fund to invest in startups and new robotics technology.
HSR weighs as much as a half-dozen bowling balls, but can only lift a 1.2-kilogram payload, about the weight of a medium-sized water bottle.
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Toyota wants to put a robot in every home. pic.twitter.com/NzOKvx1NmY
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