Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology have found a way to improve robots' ability to find objects.
The improvement comes in the form of small ultra-high frequency RFID (radio-frequency identification) tags that are placed onto objects and allow robots to locate them in a room, even when the tag can't be seen, according to CNET.
However, robots can't find objects with RFID alone. Charlie Kemp, biomedical engineering associate professor at Georgia Tech, said the tags don't tell the robot where the object is, and that the robot needs to be smart in order to find objects and get close to them. Because of this, directionally sensitive antennae and a search algorithm were added to the robot being tested to help it better locate objects and move towards them.
Kemp and team members Travis Deyle and Matthew Reynolds tested the technology out on their custom PR2 robot, ExtremeTech reported. The team attached a long-distance RFID scanner to the robot's shoulder to help find targets.
The robot travels around the house a couple of times before finding specific tags, and then navigates towards its target.
The antennae receive a stronger RFID signal when they face the direction of tagged objects, as well as when they are close to them, CNET reported. Household objects tested in the study include a medication bottle, a TV remote, a hair brush and a cell phone.
Deyle, co-author of the study, said robots could be used to grab and deliver medication to people at the appropriate time, and that there is less of a risk of delivering the wrong medication because RFID is able to precisely identify objects.
"Creating a system that allows robots to accurately locate the correct tag is an important first step," he added.
The use of RFID tags gives the robot the potential to locate billions of objects and avoid encountering false positives, CNET reported.
"With a little modification of the objects in your home, a robot could quickly take inventory of your possessions and navigate to an object of your choosing," Kemp said. "Are you looking for something? The robot will show you where it is."
