Fido conked out for the evening? Your youngster not really into "playing catch" at age 14? Enter TOTO -- a brilliant robotic contraption conceived at Reinhold-Würth University -- that can absolutely act as a suitable replacement. Short for Tracking of Thrown Objects, the camera-equipped system views and tracks incoming objects, and once said object is within catching range, it clamps down in order to grab hold. Eventually, the inventors would love to see the machine have an impact within a manufacturing facility, but considering just how effective conveyor belts have been over the past few scores, we'd say it has its work cut out for it. Video's after the break, and it's worth checking out.
I wonder how this thing would do with a curve ball or -- a knuckleball. I seems to calculate flight based on various parameters from the camera - I wonder how advanced it actually is. What if there is a 20 MPH wind in the room? What if I throw a ping pong ball? TOTO 2.0!
TOTO... at first I thought why would a Japanese toilet manufacturer make a tennis ball catching robot, even though Japanese toilets are pretty advanced...
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posted Sep 30th 2009 10:41AM
Hey, that's pretty sweet... wish the video showed some more difficult catches....
yea... i suddenly have an urge to throw a hardball as fast as i can at it :D
God I hope I live long enough to see the first all robot CFL expansion team.
Well that's one less thing to worry about.
I for one welcome our new Missile catching overlords
(had to be said)
@Michael - Great minds think alike. Our new overlords will welcome us in the new world order.
Doesn't PlasticPals.com sounds a little like a sex toy website?
Keep the cool robot videos coming!
WOW, that sweet. You could put the system in the keeper from a robot soccer team ...
Toto means Vagina in some Spanish speaking countries.
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=toto
To me it means awesome 80s Synth Rock
It's also a very popular brand of toilets in Japan.
In Esperanto, Toto means all three of those.
Hold the line! Robot love isn't always on time!
I'm ashamed to say I immediately caught that reference, including the bass line thumping in my brain.
I'm in the same boat, Chief.
I wonder how this thing would do with a curve ball or -- a knuckleball. I seems to calculate flight based on various parameters from the camera - I wonder how advanced it actually is. What if there is a 20 MPH wind in the room? What if I throw a ping pong ball? TOTO 2.0!
We are already using this type of stuff in manufacturing, cameras and all.
They can afford to build a robot, but why does their camera do the "Jelly Video" thing?
Can I throw it a fresh egg or a water-filled balloon just for the fun of it?
Wond if it can even determine velocity of different sized objects.
TOTO... at first I thought why would a Japanese toilet manufacturer make a tennis ball catching robot, even though Japanese toilets are pretty advanced...
Just in case you had an extra bit of burritos beforehand...
I think that robot hand was much better and faster.
Although this is probably more than a thousand times cheaper.
Yeah, but can it catch an arrow? If not the Mythbusters robot hand has it beat....hands down...
Yawns... call me when they make something that can catch bullets, meh.
To hell with catching - put a ping pong paddle on that thing so you can play 3D pong against the computer!
seriously, place that at the end of a ping pong table and go Forrest Gump on its ass
pretty sure the computer would kick your asses. Machines don't get tired you pathetic earthling!
maybe the cubs can put an offer in...
Cubs will always let me down, i don't think this is gonna be of much use to them because they'll always F it up in the end (post season).
HOLD THE LINE! Did ROSANNA build this in AFRICA?
(sorry, couldn't help myself).
i'd like to see it catch a c.c. sabathia fastball
Put a bat on it... whack.
Hurry up technology! Make a robot that is willing to play table tennis with me. No human is willing to. :`(
reminds me of gmod