Roombots: Robotic Furniture that Reconfigures Itself!

Photo credit: Biorobotics Laboratory, EPFL

by Monica Peters

There’s nothing better than robotic inventions that make everyday life easier.  

 The École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) or English translation: Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne)  has created something spectacular that I hope will be on the market in the US very soon:  Adaptive Self Organizing Furniture—furniture that moves around and changes structures on its own.

If you want to change the layout of your conference room or bedroom, simply program the layout from a tablet and the small robotic modules will configure themselves.  You don’t need to do anything except wait for the modules to complete the task.

EPFL scientists from the Biorobotics Laboratory invented the Roombot creation which emphasizes a hybrid model made up of the robotic modules and “solid passive elements” to ensure cost effectiveness and solidity of the structures.  The Roombot pieces have a wireless connection and  retractable claws to attach themselves to other pieces to make larger structures. The Roombot pieces, which are each 22 cm-long, have a motor and battery. 

It’s important to note that the scientists are still working on perfecting this project. As of right now, according to the site there are “four functional modules with an autonomy of one-hour - still not enough to create complete pieces of furniture, but enough to build simple structures and hybrid combinations.”

This invention is attracting much attention and investment to move the project further. EPFL received a grant from the Swiss National Science Foundation to start designing multifunctional and assistive robotic furniture starting in September 2014.  The new module will be able to interact with people such as monitoring health, helping a person recover from fall, helping humans move such as laying down, sitting or standing. 

In the meantime, take a look at how this works present day.