Australian engineering students create robot couch, help move humans closer to peak laziness
Where was this miraculous invention when I was watching last night's NFL season opener from my (very stationary) couch?
A group of engineering students at Australia's University of New South Wales have spent the last year creating a "robocouch" that will spin you around to your heart's content (presumably, to the fridge and then back to a spot in front of the television). This majestic robotic couch is tricked out: It boasts "mecum wheels instead of legs," can reach speeds up to nearly 10 miles per hour, and the whole thing is controlled via a Raspberry Pi computer embedded into the armrest.
"The couch fits quite nicely down corridors and in lifts," Steph McArthur, one of the engineers on the project, explained. "If we can fit it out with different sensors to map indoor areas, then it could potentially navigate from one place to another, and not crash into things along the route."
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Alas, even if you have $2,802 lying around and are totally fine bumping into walls on your kitchen quest, you can't purchase the couch just yet. But check out CNET's video below, and dream of a future in which your Sunday football refills are just a couch ride away. --Sarah Eberspacher
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Sarah Eberspacher is an associate editor at TheWeek.com. She has previously worked as a sports reporter at The Livingston County Daily Press & Argus and The Arizona Republic. She graduated from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism.
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