Why Mount a Robot on Your Shoulder?

While companion bots are not a new concept here at Hackster — see, for example, Alex Glow’s Archimedes owl-bot and Odd Jayy's Dexter monkey-bot — they tend to act as robotic pets more than as assistants for physical tasks. As a different take on things, in the video below, Skyentific answers the question of just how you could use a robot arm on your shoulder.

The mountable device consists of a full six-axis robot arm on the wearer’s right should, with a more limited two-axis actuator setup on the left. Both are made by Innfos, and are attached to Skyentific’s body by a harness made out of some sort of rigid square structural tubing. On the back is a power supply, along with an all-important emergency stop button on the back within easy reach. Control is via a Raspberry Pi, with a keyboard on the table in front of him. One could also imagine an all-in-one integrated assembly with the controls and a portable battery onboard.

In the video, several potential uses are illustrated. These include truly hands-free phone use with the right arm, while the left holds up a silence card; bumping your head when you fall as you fall asleep; and putting your glasses on, while cooling you off with a fan. Certainly the most practical use proposed, however, is as a filming rig. Here the right arm can hold the camera to view your face, while the left holds up and adjusts a light assembly.