Baxter:

[pbjosh]

Meet my new employee:

http://youtu.be/rjPFqkFyrOY

[cockerpunk]

im only mildly creeped out by its "face"

[Simon]

I take it that it is serious? It's talking about doing some pretty advanced stuff...

It is creepy though. It looks oppressed. It should at least have a happy face. Right until they take over the world that is...

[pbjosh]

It is very serious - and from what I catch, they are cheap:

Developed by Boston-based Rethink Robotics, Baxter automatically adapts to changing environments through cameras, sensors and software that enable it to "'see' objects, 'feel' forces and 'understand' tasks," according to the company's website.

For this reason, Rethink claims that Baxter robots can safely work alongside humans. They can also be trained like a person, with the robots capable of juggling multiple tasks, and learning a new one in less than 30 minutes (Check out the video above to see them in action).

Priced at $22,000 and with no integration required, Baxter robots are "a fraction of the cost of a traditional industrial robot," according to Rethink. "Baxter was specifically designed to be affordable for mid-size and small manufacturers, companies that have never been able to afford robots before."

$22K, and you teach them by doing the action, not programming a long set of G or related codes.

Not that I know of a use for one yet, but I will think of one. I wonder how good of a shot they are, and how to ruggedize the screen. Mounting it to a remote control Argo would be a snap.

[L x]

Why did they put eyes on it?! That scares the hell out of me. Imagine working on a line next to that thing, you'd feel like it was continuously giving it's ಠ_ಠ face in your direction.

[pbjosh]

0_o

You know a face hack could be fun. Some "Lucy in the factory" faces, Jonny 5, Optimus Prime, Max Headroom. Fark probably has a photoshop contest already.

Though hacking somebody else's to a picture of Obama saying "You didn't Build This" every time Baxter completed a project would be funny.

[neftaly]

I got the feeling its face was inspired by the character Gerty from Moon (2009), would definitely replace it with such.

[Simon]

You could do some pretty entertaining stuff with it's face. You could use emoticons based upon what it is doing and how well it's going too...

[BigEvil]

We are doomed... its only a matter of time now!!!!