Robot knocks to enter

Spanish researchers have developed an autonomous, intelligent robot that can find its way around a new building, identify doors and ask permission to enter.

The Autonomous Robotics and Systems research team from the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), led by Basilio Sierra, has enabled the robot (which is called Tartalo) to navigate indoors where GPS navigation does not work.

The 1.5-metre tall, intelligent machine side-steps any obstacle in its path, using sonar, infrared lasers. The laser measures the distance of the robot from any object in a 180-degree radius in front of it.

The biomimetic algorithms mean Tartalo gains information on a new building by exploring and taking in points of reference. As this would normally require huge amounts of data, this has been simplified by programming Tartalo to recognise common structures: room, corridor, front hall and junction. After learning the position of all of these, the machine creates a topological map that the operator can then give specific labels to.