Because what good is a robotic housekeeper if it can only clean the ground floor, engineer James Bruton challenged himself to build a robot capable of ascending and descending stairs. It accomplishes the task via its three sections, which it can lift and lower individually, making stair-climbing possible. Personally, I avoid climbing stairs and taking the escalator/elevator whenever possible, but that’s just me, and my doctor says I really need to start making healthier choices. I would argue I just need a personal jetpack.
The robot features omnidirectional rear wheels and a moving counterweight on top to keep itself balanced as it lifts and lowers its sections, preventing an unfortunate tumble. And based on the look of it, I doubt this robot would be able to recover from a fall down the stairs, almost certainly resulting in a Humpty Dumpty situation.
Now, all it needs is vacuum and dusting attachments, and we’re one step closer to a functional robotic housekeeper! Not a very quick one though, so don’t expect it to be able to answer the door if it’s upstairs when the doorbell rings. It was probably just someone trying to convince you to switch internet providers anyways.
[via TechEBlog]
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