With every passing day, we come closer to a day with robots aiding human life. And now, robots are also taking over the upcoming 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.
Japanese automobile manufacturer Toyota is bringing a team of robots to the Tokyo Olympics to help the players as well as the spectators in a way never seen before at any sporting event of the scale of the Olympics.
Image Courtesy: Reuters
The first two robots look similar to the Tokyo Olympics 2020 mascots- Miraitowa and Someity. Miraitowa gets a blue and white trim whereas Someity gets a pink and white trim, both with big adorable eyes.
The eyes are actually displays which change expressions upon interacting with humans. They also have the ability to move their arms and legs to feel more natural. They'll be set-up at official Tokyo 2020 Olympics venues to greet people as well as click selfies with them. Toyota also plans to set up these bots in other cities across Japan to offer kids from those cities to not miss out on the fun.?
The next robot in the list looks a lot less cute and a lot more badass. Its named T-HR3 and while it looks nothing like Miraitowa and Someity, it is designed to offer a similar experience as the two. T-HR3 will be able to recreate movement from a mascot robot in a remote location in real-time.
Moreover, it is also capable of providing images and sounds from remote locations. However, the most fun part about this robot is that its users will also be able to converse with and high-five athletes and others since it has more movements than the aforementioned robots.?
Now coming to robots that don't look humanoid, but are equally amazing in their utility. The T-TR1 is a virtual mobility/telepresence robot developed by Toyota Research Institute in the US. It is loaded with a camera on top of a large, life-size portrait display. The life-size display will help users interacting with the robot to feel that they're right at the 2020 Olympic venue in Tokyo while interacting with people on the other side.?
The next team of robots are designed to help the attendees have a pleasant experience at the venue -- the Human Support Robots (HSR) and the Delivery Support Robots. HSR Robots will help specially-abled people to reach to their seats without any hindrance, while also providing them with meals, goods etc.
DSR Robots, on the other hand, are designed to deliver drinks and food, among other things, to spectators that they've ordered using a dedicated tablet at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic games.
Last but not least are Field Support Robots or FSR. They will assist humans in delivering goods on the field in throwing events like Javelin, from one spot to another. They'll map the quickest and the most efficient route using AI and take advantage of LIDAR sensors to avoid obstacles on the way.
With the implementation of FSR, the management aims to reduce the time needed to retrieve items while cutting costs on labour, and making the 2020 Olympic games the most technologically advanced ever.