We鈥檝e seen the future 鈥� and it is automated.
We have automated vacuum cleaners, cars and even warplanes. So it was only a matter of time until the practice moved to home furnishings. And Sunday before last, at 5 a.m., the (RAS) debuted the latest 鈥� and most peculiar 鈥� automation application: a robotic couch.
Complete with four motors, nine batteries, a sound system and LEDs spanning the perimeter of the deep green couch, its creators cruised down W. 21st Street. A computerized campus speed-trap sign read 鈥�5 MPH鈥� 鈥� the couch鈥檚 top speed 鈥� while an attached boombox blasted, quite appropriately, Kanye West鈥檚 鈥�.鈥�
In short, it was a successful test run.
The impetus behind the build was simple: they had the parts.
鈥淲e had a couch that wasn鈥檛 robotic,鈥� says RAS member Christopher Haster. 鈥淎nd we had motors.鈥�
But it was also a pitch to the 鈥� a national contest for creators, engineers and hackers sponsored by the caffeinated-beverage maker. Their video application to the contest gained some traction and garnered . 鈥淲e actually didn鈥檛 spend any additional money on this,鈥� Haster says. 鈥淚t was just built out of parts we kind of had lying around. So we just threw it together when we had free time.鈥�
The couch isn鈥檛 a picture of efficiency: it takes 9 hours to charge, runs for 15 minutes and is difficult to move out of the trailer the society occupies outside of the engineering building.
But still 鈥� for next to no money, the RAS got a robotic couch, a chance to secure a spot in the finals in the national contest, and a free case of Red Bull.
The RAS, however, isn't resting on its laurels.
Next up: the annual , which recruits robotics departments from universities across the nation. The challenge? Build an autonomous robot able to navigate a treacherous course using GPS coordinates. At the contest the RAS , a project the society spent nearly a year building for a little under $500. Some schools spend as much as three times that.
And after the contest, RAS members they鈥檒l focus on their next project: an automated recliner.
Here鈥檚 the RAS video for its robotic couch:
