Generation Robots was the company’s Rethink Robotics first global distributor of the Baxter Research Robot . The Baxter robot’s manufacturer has today rewarded our strong commitment by presenting us with the 2014 partner of the year award!
Much of 2014 was devoted to the research version of the Baxter – the Baxter Research Robot – and we shared our creations with the Baxter user community . Examples include the “Baxter Tasker” and even a motorised helmet with a Kinect camera . We also co-organised a seminar at which the founder and chairman of Rethink Robotics, Rodney Brooks, shared his vision of collaborative robotics .
Baxter Research Robot: huge potential for developers
The advent of collaborative robotics has opened up a huge reservoir of ideas for robotics developers like those working for Génération Robots. The fact that the ROS (Robot Operating System) can be used for a robot like the Baxter means specific high-value-added applications can be created for users and operators of the Baxter Research Robot, the research version of the Baxter robot.
Rethink Robotics has continued innovating by regularly supplying major software updates , not only for the industrial version of the software with the Intera software , but also through major SDK updates , the latest of which supports ROS Indigo, Ubuntu 14.04 and the Kinect depth camera .
Baxter Tasker: an ROS package making “pick and place” simpler
An ROS package was created in June 2014, the Baxter Tasker , which provides users with an interface for controlling their computer and the Baxter robot. It was designed for integrating a “pick and place” behaviour, and automatically generates the necessary Python code. This contribution was noticed and spotlighted on the Rethink Robotics community site .
Baxter: from the Kinect sensor to the touch sensor
The sheer number of accessories created for the cobot demonstrates the extent to which it’s possible to increase its visual and sensory capabilities. In 2014 some very useful accessories were used with the robot, like this touch sensor developed by academics from MIT to increase its dexterity.
Our engineers work regularly with the Kinect depth camera , and they came up with the pretty ingenious idea of resting the Kinect camera on a motorised support , thereby enabling the Baxter robot to adjust its field of vision. A practical and original creation found extremely interesting by the manufacturer.
Rodney Brooks vision of collaborative robotics
To crown 2014, we co-organised in October Rodney Brooks’ visit for a seminar on collaborative robotics in partnership with the Pierre et Marie Curie University (UPMC). This event allowed researchers, developers and students in robotics to meet the father of the Baxter robot at the occasion of a cocktail evening held after the seminar.
The content of this conference is now available online:
