Wednesday, May 3. 2006

Robot Mapper

You know how exhibitors have toys and games to attract attention to their booths at trade shows? The one at the ESRI Business GeoInfo Summit wasn't a toy at all. It actually mapped!



The robot, Sarah, has a laser range finder, video camera, and harddrive and can be remote controlled to map an indoor environment. She's one of the smaller units in Penobscot Bay Media's fleet, but she was the talk of the floor. As the staff explained it to me, more an more floor plans are out of date and realtors don't know what they are selling. Hence the need for these mapping robots. More complex siblings can carry sensors and send back real time information, often from places people would rather not venture.

I was impressed with the raw maps Sarah made of the floor. These can be enhanced by technicians who can help interpret what the objects are (to her they are just things) and add 3D visualization. Penobscot Bay uses the robots to perform service work for the
most part, serving the real estate industry.

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