Robot Dogsitter of the Day: Microsoft Robotics Group developer Jordan Correa works quite a bit, and he has to leave his dog, Darwin, home alone all day. He solved the problem by creating a robot dogsitter that he can control from work.
DarwinBot has an onboard ball launcher, a claw to retrieve the ball, and a kibbler dispense to reward Darwin with treats. It also has a couple of webcams that Jordan can use to look around, and a Kinect sensor that keeps it from bashing into obstacles.
Jordan talks to Darwin via Skype and pilots the robot with an Xbox 360 controller. And the dog doesn’t seem to mind too much that his companion is a machine, as long as he gets playtime and treats.
[guyism]
