Discover GR-3: Your Friendly Robot Companion
In today’s modern world, technology often focuses on efficiency, but it’s refreshing to see an innovation that emphasizes companionship. Meet Fourier’s first Care-bot GR-3, designed not just as a robot, but as an interactive companion aimed at enhancing human well-being. This full-size “care bot” features a soft-touch outer shell and a multimodal emotional interaction system, embodying the essence of “warm tech companionship.” While the idea of encouraging touch is intriguing, some may question its safety. It draws interesting parallels to Valkyrie, where NASA meticulously considered the soft aspects of robot design.
This week, we’re excited to showcase a variety of remarkable robotics innovations. One standout is the 112-gram micro air vehicle (MAV), which boasts foldable propeller arms that efficiently lock into a compact rectangular shape, about the size of a smartphone. The MAV can be launched simply by throwing it into the air, at which point it autonomously unfolds and stabilizes itself into a hovering state. Extensive flight tests have revealed its capability to stabilize under varying initial conditions, including tumbling rates as high as 2,500 degrees per second.
Shifting gears to space exploration, the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) is making strides by deploying reinforcement-learning algorithms onto Astrobee, a free-flying robotic assistant on the International Space Station. This initiative showcases how artificial intelligence can be integrated to enable robots to learn, adapt, and perform tasks autonomously, improving their maneuverability and energy efficiency.
Trust is a core value in robotics, and Cobot’s CEO Brad Porter articulates this with their robot Proxie, emphasizing a design ethos that builds trust from the ground up. Every aspect, from the wheels to the eyes, is intentionally crafted to foster confidence and reliability.
In a different vein, DEEP Robotics humorously encapsulates the entrepreneurial journey: “Phase 1: Build lots of small quadruped robots. Phase 2: ? Phase 3: Profit!” It’s a light-hearted reminder of the unpredictable journey of innovation.
LAPP USA has formed a partnership with Corvus Robotics to tackle longstanding supply chain issues, particularly focusing on labor-intensive and prone-to-error tasks like inventory counting. Collaborations like this underline how robotics can streamline and enhance efficiency across various sectors.
Dr. Aaron Zhang from LimX Dynamics offers intriguing insights into the mind of a cutting-edge humanoid robot in an exclusive episode. His expertise provides a deeper understanding of how the LimX Oli operates, integrating complex functionalities into a sleek, human-like form.
As we delve into these exciting developments, don’t forget to mark your calendars for significant upcoming events in the robotics world:
- ACTUATE 2025: 23–24 September 2025, San Francisco
- CoRL 2025: 27–30 September 2025, Seoul
- IEEE Humanoids: 30 September – 2 October 2025, Seoul
- World Robot Summit: 10–12 October 2025, Osaka, Japan
- IROS 2025: 19–25 October 2025, Hangzhou, China
Enjoy today’s videos, and dive into the world of robotics!
By: Evan Ackerman · Date: 2025-09-12 22:04:00 · From: IEEE Spectrum via spectrum.ieee.org
Original title: “GR-3 Care-bot: The Gentle Robot Companion Experience” · Retrieved: 1759283423
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