Meet the robots at Reading: an introduction

We now have an idea about robots – different types and different things they can do. We now want to introduce some of the robots you will see in this course and the simulated robots you will use as you learn how to get them to do different tasks.

Let’s start with a demonstration of the robots that we have here at Reading.

Some are little mobile robots – which we have been developing since around 1990, and which are featured in some of the videos throughout the course. These have been used:

• To demonstrate different aspects of Cybernetics at talks to Schools
• For teaching students to problem solve
• As devices in student projects
• As devices to try out ideas in research projects
• As attractions in Science Museums

The other main robot we have is Baxter:

• This is a modern interactive robot which can act like an industrial robot
• But which has been designed so it is safe to work with humans.

Let’s meet the robots…