"My generation believed the world would be overrun by
robots by the year 2014. We now have the mechanical and electronic
capabilities, but robots still lack understanding—seeing and thinking in the
way we do. Mastering this will make our lives easier and lead to previously
unthinkable technologies,” said James Dyson, founder, Dyson.
Dyson, an engineering firm, popular for its bagless vacuum
cleaners, is all set to invest £5
million in robotic lab located at imperial college, London. This new robotic
lab will help robots to know the world around them and adapt to it.
James Dyson and Prof Andrew Davison of imperial college are
working together on robotics since 2005. The research that will be conducted at
the lab will cover the robotics vacuum cleaner and domestic robot.
In 2001, Dyson’s robotic vacuum cleaner’s prototype almost
completed its production. However, Prof Andrew Davison pulled it out at the
last moment saying that it was way expensive and huge. There are few robotic
vacuum cleaners like iRobot's Roomba
and LG's Hom-Bot in the market.
This five year investment
by Dyson will be supplemented by an additional fund of £3 million from other
sources.
"A truly intelligent domestic robot needs to complete complex
everyday tasks while adapting to a constantly changing environment. “We will
research and develop systems that allow machines to both understand and
perceive their surroundings - using vision to achieve it,” said Prof Andrew
Davison.
Future of
global robotics market is bright and is poised to grow. An investment of £250 million was announced by Dyson in January,
which will expand the size of its research center at Wiltshire.
