Rethink Robotics’s Baxter looks at first sight like any other industrial robot:
But its price tag is only slightly above $20000. There’s no need for specialized programmers, learning new operations hand-guided by its human supervisors. It doesn’t need protection cages as it’s sensors alerts it of the proximity of obstacles and humans. The onboard flat screen shows where its attention is directed at and its brain is pretty much an evolutive standard PC platform. All the necessary qualities to end up in all small manufacturers workshops soon? The first robot that’s really cheaper than off-shore labour?