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Forget throwing stuff at it while you flee in terror – this robot can catch anything you toss at it

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When the robot invasion starts (when robots take over the world and enslave the human race), proper robot self-defense is going to be difficult – especially now that we find out we can’t throw rocks, furniture, or small children at them while we flee. You see, this amazing robot can catch anything you throw at it.

The armature of this robotic arm has four fingers and a three-jointed hand that can react at a blazing 5/100ths of a second. The software on this EPFL-developed robot allows it to be “taught” how to catch by a human. A human moves the robot’s arm around manually until it “learns” how to catch the object. Then the robot uses its camera-based tracking system, which tracks trajectory, speed, and rotation of the flying object, to refine its movements and catch small objects before they hit the ground.

Researchers say the robot’s high-speed reflexes could be useful in everything from factories – where they can help protect human workers – to autonomous vehicles that could react and avoid an accident in the blink of an eye.  The robotic arm being developed by EPFL is being designed to assist astronauts picking up debris while in space.

Thankfully, for now, this robot has no legs so running away in terror is still your best option.

Check out the video below.

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