(Video) Toyota’s new robot takes selfies while cleaning office/home

Toyota has developed a robot that can clean office equipment including reflective surfaces or do household chores and take selfie simultaneously.

Toyota has released a video demonstrating the robot wiping down tables and other surfaces while taking the video itself.

Vice President of Robotics at Toyota Research Institute, Max Bajracharya, said, “Training robots to understand how to operate in home environments poses special challenges because of the diversity and complexity of our homes where small tasks can add up to big challenges.”

Bajracharya’s team aims to develop robotic capabilities to amplify human abilities, so that machines can help out people in an aging society.

The development is considered a big step towards achieving that goal, according to engadget,com and MSN Auto,

The release of the friendly video was made to coincide with the National Selfie Day marked on Monday — a robot that wants to take selfies while it works around the house.

The unnamed machine is the latest step forward in the TRI’s robotics studies as engineers and far smarter minds work to teach the robot new skills, the firm says.

It also states, “Most robots are programmed to react to the objects and geometry in front of them” and can’t differentiate between an actual object and its reflection.

It notes that something as common as a drinking glass or a shiny toaster could prevent robots made to work in homes from doing their tasks properly.

The automaker also says it has overcome that problem by developing the novel training method allowing robots to “perceive the 3D geometry of the scene while also detecting objects and surfaces.”

In the video, one can see the robot move the cups out of the way to continue cleaning a surface.

All of this led to a breakthrough TRI calls “programmable data.” The robot can take synthetic data to recreate a situation and learn, rather than collect physical data for quite some time, and then practise a task.

This machine primarily focuses on cleaning and helping around the house, and that’s a goal for the firm.

The TRI says it is not in the business of building robots to replace human activities, but to help humans with tasks.

This, it stresses, is especially true for older folks who may need a hand with carrying groceries and those kinds of things. The robot will happily take a selfie while carrying out its tasks.