'Mobility for all', they say at Toyota. The car manufacturer has an important mission for the future: that everyone can enjoy the freedom of mobility. "Whether you are 1 year old or 100", is the motto. This is also why Toyota is further expanding its European research into robotics.
The manufacturer goes beyond designing and producing cars. For instance, the Toyota robot family is also getting more and more extensive. One of its showpieces is the Toyota Human Support Robot (HSR). This can support elderly people in daily life. This robot is then also available to other parties involved in robotics.
"Toyota has developed the robot HSR with the goal of 'Mobility for all'," the company reveals in a news release. "The robot is part of an entire robot family, the Toyota Partner Robots family, and the robot T-HR3 also belongs to this family. The smaller HSR has an unfolding arm. This allows it to grab objects from the floor, or from a bookshelf. Super handy for the elderly or people with disabilities, for example."
Because Toyota also understands that it is not the only party researching robotics, it also has no intention of reinventing the wheel. The HSR will therefore be made available to other researchers. "Then they don't have to develop a robot and associated software. Instead, they can focus on new ideas and applications. And then they can test these with the HSR in a real environment. We call this the HSR Developer's Community. And it has existed since September 2015. Meanwhile, 44 partners from 12 countries have already joined."
On the fast track
With the existing and new collaborations, Toyota hopes to accelerate the technological advances of researchers, including in the Netherlands. Among others, Eindhoven University of Technology, along with four more European universities, is supported with the HSR. The others are based in Germany, France and the UK. Toyota recently showcased the HSR at IROS 2018, an international conference on robotics in Madrid, among other events.
Give a boost
"Our European research into robotics makes a significant contribution to Toyota's global research into it," Gerard Killmann, Vice President R&D Toyota Motor Europe, told us. "We are convinced that the HSR can make a real contribution to the work of researchers and boost their technological advances. Moreover, we are excited to further expand collaborations with European research organisations in the field of robotics."
Source + photo: Toyota
