A group of engineering students at the University of New South Wales in Australia have created a robotic couch for those who are too lazy to get up and walk to the fridge to get a drink.
The "robocouch" comes with a custom-built steel chassis of mecanum wheels instead of legs, according to CNET. 12V electric scooter motors are attached to the wheels and are connected to a central USB video game controller, which is used for controlling the couch's speed and direction.
The couch is capable of reaching speeds up to 9.3 miles per hour.
Using individual rollers for each wheel allows the user to move the couch in any direction they want, the Huffington Post reported.
The engineers added a Raspberry Pi to the robocouch to function as its brain.
It took a year and AU$3,000 ($2,802) to develop the 220-pound invention, CNET reported.
The team plans to continue working on the robocouch so that it can become autonomous in the future.
"The couch fits quite nicely down corridors and in lifts, so if we can fit it out with different sensors to map indoor areas, then it could potentially navigate from one place to another, and not crash into things along the route," team member Steph McArthur said.
The students are scheduled to show off the robocouch at the University of New South Wales open day on Sept. 6th.
