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MIT Robotic Toyota Lift Truck
July 28, 2010
A news release was distributed today announcing that The U.S. Army Logistics Innovation Agency (LIA) hosted demonstrations at Fort Lee in Virginia of an MIT-developed prototype unmanned robotic Toyota lift truck capable of locating, lifting, moving and placing palletized supplies within an existing outdoor supply depot. The demonstration included review of the robot’s safety features, sensor capabilities and human-robot interface based on voice and gesture commands.
The 3,000-pound capacity, internal combustion Toyota 8-Series lift truck was modified by researchers at MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory to perform embodied speech and gesture understanding; shape estimation (from laser range scanner data); machine vision (from camera data); motion estimation (from GPS, inertial data and wheel odometry encoders); and autonomous mobility and pallet manipulation. Proprietary Controller Area Network (CAN-bus) protocols, provided by Toyota’s 8-Series product engineering team, enabled the MIT team to connect its algorithms directly to the lift truck’s manual and electrical controls.
The news release was sent nationwide to an estimated 10,700 traditional and wire outlets along with material handling, science and military trade media. You can also view the announcement online at www.toyotaforklift.com or on the portal https://portal.mytmhu.com.
If you have any questions, please contact Melinda Beckett-Maines at TMHU at 949-223-7722 or Melinda.beckett-maines@tmhu.com.
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