Robot Assembles IKEA Chair in Only 20 Minutes
Is this the answer to irritating furniture construction?
Tackling an issue that has vexed humans for years, a robot from Nanyang Technological University was programmed to assemble one of IKEA‘s Stefan pine chairs. What ends up being an hour-long exercise in frustration for a normal person is translated into a simple 20-minute project for the two-armed robot. The researchers programmed the device to “read” IKEA’s assembly manual, before mapping the task, planning its motions and finally piecing the furniture together. It took more than one attempt, but after smoothing out some quirks, the machine finally executed the assembly on its own in 20 minutes, 19 seconds. Check out Nanyang Technological University’s robotic IKEA video of the process:
In response, Science Magazine challenged its staff to compete with the robot’s time, which they were barely able to overtake:
Elsewhere, the Swedish furniture company recently debuted the full lineup for its STAMPD collaboration.
