A Robot that Won't Spill Your Wine

Imagine you're a waiter who could keep a glass of wine steady on a tray even if someone unexpectedly yanked your arm. Would you be superhuman, or perhaps robotic?

Toyota's new Torque Servo Robot Arm, on display at the International Robot Exhibition 2013 in Tokyo, is controlled by the physical touch of the operator―not a keyboard or a joystick―allowing the operator to physically specify movements. The arm responds quickly, smoothly and flexibly, and can be trained to maintain a certain "hand" position even if the upper arm or the elbow is moved.

What's more, if the arm accidentally comes into contact with someone, it will automatically try to cushion the impact, which would make it ideal for carrying out tasks in a busy bar or restaurant. A great way to cut down on spillage!

Our hope is that robots will one day be completely autonomous, but for now we think it's more practical to combine human operation with autonomous robot functions. This requires remote-force-feedback technology, such as that used in the Torque Servo Robot Arm.

At Toyota, we've been developing robots since the 1970s when we created them mostly for manufacturing. Since then, we've expanded to the development of robots that are designed to support human activities and enable new lifestyles. We call them "Partner Robots", and we see them as useful in four areas of life: nursing and medical care, short-distance personal transport, manufacturing, and home-living assistance.

Click here to read about one of our in-development Partner Robots, the Human Support Robot, which was unveiled at the end of last year.