Robot works controls of simulated cockpit: Introducing PIBOT
How close are we to a day when robots will fly airplanes? A presentation of a takeoff and landing simulation at the IROS (International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems) in Chicago this month, "A Robot-Machine Interface for Full-functionality Automation using a Humanoid," by Heejin Jeong, David Hyunchul Shim and Sungwook Cho, may help you to come up with answers. A small robot worked the controls of a simulated cockpit. PIBOT, as the robot was called, was able to work the controls, to the extent that it was able to identify and use the buttons and switches found in a real cockpit of a normal light aircraft designed for humans, reported Evan Ackerman in IEEE Spectrum. PIBOT as shown in the video prepares for flight by turning on the switches in the order of power, battery, altimeter etc. The engine starts and PIBO accelerates on the runway while following the...