While we've heard a lot about humanoid robots lately, the technical requirements for their bipedal walking gait will likely keep them quite expensive – and thus little-seen. By contrast, the "semi-humanoid" FlashBot Arm is something you might actually encounter sometime soon.
The bot is being manufactured by Chinese company Pudu Robotics, which does in fact also offer a full-body humanoid robot known as the D9.
That said, the FlashBot Arm is more closely related to the firm's FlashBot Max, which is essentially a wheeled cube designed to autonomously deliver items within buildings. As you might have guessed by its name (and the images), the FlashBot Arm is basically the FlashBot Max with an added set of arms and a 10.1-inch touchscreen face.
The three-jointed arms each boast seven degrees of freedom, and are equipped with Pudu's 11-degree-of-freedom DH11 robotic hands. This setup gives the robot an operational reach of up to 2 meters (6.6 ft), which it can use for tasks like grasping and carrying objects, pressing buttons such as those in elevators, and swiping card keys to access restricted areas.
One of the most obvious uses for the FlashBot Arm is the delivery of items to guests in hotels. Pudu also suggests that it could be utilized in settings like office buildings, restaurants, retail spaces, and healthcare facilities.
Thanks to its AI-based large language models – along with its mic and speaker – the robot is reportedly capable of engaging in basic conversation with human users, who can verbally issue delivery instructions to the device.
As the robot proceeds to follow those instructions, its VSLAM (visual simultaneous localization and mapping) system uses onboard sensors including RGB depth cameras, panoramic cameras, and a LiDAR module to generate a 3D map of its surroundings, and to avoid obstacles such as wandering hotel guests. Items are carried in a lidded compartment, leaving the FlashBot Arm's hands free while it's en route.
The whole rig is claimed to tip the scales at 15 kg (33 lb). One 4-hour charge of its battery pack is reportedly being good for up to eight hours of runtime, if the robot isn't carrying heavy loads.
We're still waiting to hear back from Pudu about pricing and availability. In the meantime, you can see the FlashBot Arm in action, in the video below.
Source: Pudu Robotics
