Baxter

A human sized red robots arms are wrapped around a smiling man.
Rodney Brooks gets a hug from his new robot. Photo: David Yellen

Baxter is a versatile manufacturing robot. Its cameras and force-sensing actuators let it adapt to changes in the environment, and a user can program a new task simply by moving its arms around.

Creator

Rethink Robotics

(Rethink Robotics shut down in 2018; its patents and trademarks were acquired by Germany's Hahn Group.)

Year
2012
Country
United States 🇺🇸
Categories
Features
A large red and black robot with two industrial arms with grippers, and a display for a face is placed at a tabletop where it moves its arm and picks up a red object on the table.
Interactive
See Baxter pick up a plastic widget. Photos: David Yellen

More interactives

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Appearance

Neutral

Did you know?

Baxter doesn't speak, but it nods its LCD head to indicate that it has understood a new command.

A human sized red robot holds up two "bunny fingers" behind a man he stands next to.
Baxter is a real joker. Photo: David Yellen
A red robot hand, two gripper fingers, and a camera.
Close-up of Baxter's forearm camera. Photo: David Yellen
Product manager Mike Bugda demonstrates how Baxter works. Video: IEEE Spectrum

Audio

In an interview with IEEE Spectrum, Rodney Brooks describes how he tests the safety of his robot Baxter by putting his own body on the line.

In an interview with IEEE Spectrum, Rodney Brooks describes how he tests the safety of his robot Baxter by putting his own body on the line.

Photo: David Yellen
Rodney Brooks explains the main differences between a traditional industrial robot and his robot Baxter.

Rodney Brooks explains the main differences between a traditional industrial robot and his robot Baxter.

Photo: David Yellen

History

Rodney Brooks, a cofounder of iRobot and a former director of MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, founded Rethink Robotics, then called Heartland Robotics, in 2008. His goal was to develop an affordable industrial robot that could automate repetitive tasks in small and medium-size manufacturers, working alongside humans and helping them with tasks rather than taking their jobs. The company worked in total secrecy until late 2012, when it changed its name to Rethink Robotics and unveiled its first robot, called Baxter. It introduced a second robot, Sawyer, in 2015. Rethink raised US $62 million in venture funding. The company shut down in 2018.

Close up of the robots arm and gripper hand.
The arms are powered by series elastic actuators. Photo: David Yellen
A man holds the arm of an industrial looking robot.
Baxter can coexist peacefully with humans. Photo: David Yellen

Specs

Overview

Equipped with active and passive safety systems and a user-friendly control interface. Able to control movements based on vision and force sensing.

Status

Discontinued

Year

2012

Website
Width
260 cm
Height
94 cm (waist to head)
Length
37 cm
Weight
75 kg (not including pedestal)
Sensors

Five cameras (one in the head, two in the chest, and one in each forearm). Force sensing based on series elastic actuators. Head with sonar array for detecting humans moving close by.

Actuators

Series elastic actuators with brushless DC motors, metal and plastic gearboxes, and custom spring element.

Degrees of Freedom (DoF)
16 (Arm: 7 DoF x 2; Head: 2 DoF)
Materials

Cast aluminum, thermoplastics, powdered metal parts.

Compute

Intel-based main computer inside torso. ARM-based motor controller boards inside arms.

Software

Linux OS and custom control software with ROS (Robot Operating System) integration.

Power

Standard 110-V power supply

Cost
$22,000