This app lets users control robotic arms from anywhere using a phone
Georgia Tech’s COBALT platform turns smartphones into remote robot controllers, opening new possibilities for robotics, AI training and remote work.
A private sector that captures domestic demand but remains technologically dependent — a consumer of intellectual property rather than a generator of it — is one whose future profitability is under slow but accumulating existential threat. (Image for representation: unsplash) A team of researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology has developed a system that allows people to control robotic arms using nothing more than a smartphone and an internet connection. The platform, called COBALT, aims to make robotics accessible to people with little or no technical expertise.
Developed at Georgia Tech’s People, AI & Robotics (PAIR) Lab, COBALT transforms a smartphone into a motion controller. Users simply move their phones, and the robot arm mirrors those movements in real time. Basic actions such as picking up, moving and releasing objects can be performed using simple on-screen controls.
Intuitiveness was ensured in designing the system such that those with no background knowledge in robotics would be able to use it without much trouble. In practice tests, the system enabled individuals from countries like India, Indonesia and Pakistan to control robot arms situated in Georgia Tech using their smartphones without previous experience in robotics.
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