TC Sessions: Robotics featured robots for as far as the eye could see, and several took the stage for special demonstrations. We were honored to play host as these innovative companies and teams showed off their latest creations. The videos are below are well worth your time.
The latest version of MIT’s Cheetah robot made its stage debut at TC Sessions: Robotics. It’s a familiar project to anyone who follows the industry with any sort of regularity, as one of the most impressive demos to come out of one of the world’s foremost robotics schools in recent years. Earlier versions of the four-legged robot have been able to run at speeds up to 14 miles an hour, bound over objects autonomously and even respond to questions with Alexa, by way of an Echo Dot mounted on its back.
Soft Robotics has developed soft robotic grippers that can manipulate items of varying size and shape without the help of computer vision or sensors. These grippers are FDA approved, meaning Soft Robotics’s turn-key offering works well for food packaging.
Harvard University’s Exosuit helps healthy people (like soldiers) carry loads using 15 to 20 percent less effort than they normally would. They are made with soft textiles and sensors, and powered by a battery and motor that are worn on the back. These ExoSuits can also be used by post-stroke patients and others with impediments to help walk.
Locus Robotics has built a robot that collaborates with humans in the warehouse. While humans will still do most of the picking in their respective zones, Locus Robots can travel around massive warehouses, avoiding objects, people and each other, and humans only need about an hour of training to start working with them.