Gael LangevinI am a robot. So far I can pick up a ball.
Do you have about $800? Do you have a 3D printer, and access to a few motors? If you have said yes to these questions, you are potentially just days and some light assembly away from being in possession of your very own robot. A French inventor named Gael Langevin is in the process of creating a robot that you can print out from a 3D printing machine. Combine that with the dealie that makes raw material for 3D printers out of scrap plastic, and you’re well on your way to turning household trash into a fancy robotic valet.
The robot, called InMoov, is a work in progress, and you can watch this video to see how that progress is progressing.
So at this point it’s not doing a lot, unless you are very impressed by holding a ball in one hand and transferring it to another hand and then dropping it. It also seems to be very good at raising its arms and doing something that resembles Tai Chi. Langevin has already programmed the robot to take some voice commands, and he promises his creation is going to have legs very soon, which means that it will be able to do more complicated Tai Chi and then it will hold the ball and take a few steps before dropping it, so … thank goodness we’ll have a robot servant to take over our onerous “do complicated Tai Chi and then hold a ball and take a few steps before dropping it” tasks.
Seriously, though, this is cool. Or it is scary. You can print out a robot! Eventually! For now, you can follow InMoov’s progression from novelty to highly functioning mechanical butler on Langevin’s blog.
