The Willow Garage PR2 robot is a sophisticated robot that is soon to be commercially available. The robot is unique in that, instead of having to rebuild the hardware system and implement new code to have the robot perform a new task, programmers are able to create new functionality on the robot on the fly.
The PR2 robot is capable to doing many things, such as sorting laundry and pairing up socks. It's also able to host outrageous raves as seen in the video below:
What's Driving This Trend
- Flexible Robotics
- The PR2's ability to have new functionality created on the fly presents opportunities for the development of flexible robotics.
- Automation in Laundry Services
- The PR2's ability to perform tasks such as sorting laundry presents an opportunity for automation in the laundry services industry.
- AI-assisted Assistance
- The PR2's AI-enabled capacity presents opportunities for developments in AI-assisted assistance services.
Who This Affects Most
- Robotics Industry
- The advent of the PR2 robot presents a disruption opportunity in the robotics industry.
- Laundry Services Industry
- The PR2's ability to perform laundry-related tasks presents opportunities for disruption in the laundry services industry.
- Assisted Assistance Industry
- The PR2's AI-enabled capacity presents opportunities for disruption in the assisted assistance industry.
