Tech

A new robot aims to safely dress people with limited mobility

To increase efficiency, the robot has tolerance for hitting a person, so long as the impacts are harmless.

An MIT robot assists people with limited mobility. Robots. Robotics.

One of the dreams of robotics is to help people with disabilities lead normal lives by augmenting their limited mobility.

One concern is safety, however. A robot needs to be gentle like a human, and use the appropriate amount of force. You don’t want a robot to yank a shirt over your head too aggressively. But it shouldn’t be so gentle as to be slow.

San Francisco Chronicle/Hearst Newspapers via Getty Images/Hearst Newspapers/Getty Images

To that end, researchers at MIT CSAIL have developed a method for robots to dress people that balances safety with speed.

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