An online supermarket in the U.K. is looking to make work easier for its employees with a fleet of advanced robots.
Ocado's "SecondHands" project will consist of completely autonomous humanoid machines designed to help workers by providing tools, holding objects and assisting with cleaning and engineering tasks, according to Wired. The robots may eventually obtain the ability to learn while doing assignments.
The company is working with four universities across the European Union in order to create "the most advanced assistive robot in the world."
The initiative is part of the EU's Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation program, which aims to fund major development in science and technology projects, Business Insider reported.
"The ultimate aim is for humans to end up relying on collaborative robots because they have become an active participant in their daily tasks," Graham Deacon, robotics research team leader at Ocado Technology, said in a statement, ensuring that these robots will act as partners for human employees and not replacements. "In essence the SecondHands robot will know what to do, when to do it and hwo to do it in a manner that a human can depend on."
The project involves the use of artificial intelligence in order to give the robots the ability to tell when an engineer needs help and how to provide it. Scientists are also working on advanced 3-D vision systems for the machines so they can "estimate the 3D articulated pose of humans" and help out when needed without the person asking.
Ocado also wants to add to the robots' humanity by giving them a human-like look and flexibility, which would also help them work with humans more naturally, Business Insider reported. For example, the robots would know when to grip certain objects harder than others, such as a hammer and an apple.
Paul Clarke, director of technology at Ocado, believes the robots' capabilities will evolve to being able to build warehouses in the future, Wired reported.
The goal for Ocado is to have the SecondHands robots ready to help their human co-workers in five years.
