Personal Robots, Roti Robots, Robtic Fingers, And 3D Printed Ice Cream

This week Kris Abel introduces What She Said’s Christine Bentley, Sharon Caddy, and Kate Wheeler to…

Cynthia Brazeal has invented a family robot called Jibo, a social little guy who can greet you, take pictures, manage your messages, connect people, and play educational games with your kids. She’s bringing it to market with a price of $500.

jibo

 

The best thing since sliced bread? Pranoti Nagarkar wants to free women from the daily toil of making Chapoti or Roti flatbreads for their family with the first kitchen appliance that can handle the complicated task.

Most cultures have tackled the issue of automating traditional foodstuffs (toasters, rice cookers, etc.) that are often linked to women’s work, but India and South Asia are behind. Nagarkar says robotics has allowed her to finally crack the problem.

Is this a big issue? Her debut YouTube video has 2.7 million views and pre-orders are now over $5 million (it launches early 2015). Many say the machine could help preserve Indian culture in the west where consumption of rotis are on the decline.

rotimatic

Oh the things you could do with seven fingers. Faye Wu has created a device that adds two robotic fingers to your wrist, allowing to better lift heavier objects or items that are hot to the touch while multitasking. Think holding a hot coffee while stirring it one-handed.

Although this will be useful in many occupations (construction, lab work, art studios) she’s exploring how it my helpful in the home for those with disabilities.

fayewu

Kyle Hounsell, Kristine Bunker, and David Donghyun Kim at MIT have managed to create a 3D Printer for ice cream.

The machine starts off with soft serve ice cream from a cuisinart so it can be injected, then applies liquid nitrogen to freeze it again. It repeats the process layer by layer, allowing it to form creative shapes. No doubt this has caused much excitement over at Dairy Queen.

icecreamprint

 

 

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