The project has been featured in Fuji Technology's Journal of Robotics and Mechatronics.
To build the robot which was designed in SolidWorks, a 3D design program popular among designers and engineers, the files were sent to computer controlled mills to cut out the parts from steel. Other parts, like the many servos that makes up the robot's arms, were ordered from South Korea.
Powering the robot are a series of batteries taken from electric vehicles or computer UPSs (uninterruptible power supply). Batteries can last up to 5 hours and are easily exchanged with fresh ones, while they are recharged.
The development of service robots in Thailand has been ongoing for several years. In that time, great advances have been made not only because of the work being done by students, engineers, and makers in Thailand, but also thanks to collaboration and the inclusion of technological advances made in other fields. The Kinect unit that makes up the robot's vision, for example, was included into the project and gives it enhanced capabilities that would have taken a single team many more years to develop independently.
Because of the hackability of the Kinect system, new software could be developed for the robot. We look forward to seeing future projects from this team, and the advances service robots make in Thailand in the future. Something tells us it won't be long before we see the next breakthrough.
Follow ProgressTH.org on Facebook here or on Twitter here.
