A Robot that Can Play Rock Paper Scissors with You.

Would you like to have someone available for playing rock-paper-scissors around the clock, so you can improve your game playing skills? A Robot that Can Play Rock Paper Scissors with You. Well, you won’t have someone, but something, as a robotic hand that can mimic and learns your hand’s moves was just created. The robot was created by Android Things, which is the result of a collaboration between this framework for the Internet of Things developed by Google and Deeplocal, an innovations studio. The name of this incredible creation is HandBot and it is delivered in a box, like a puzzle game, as it is offered as a DIY project. In other words, you will have the possibility to create a robotic hand that is capable of not just learning how to play rock-paper-scissors, but will also manage to play it with you at a very high level.

How can a robot learn to do this? Well, the robotic hand comes with a camera embedded in the front part, so that it can see, record, and learn from the captured images. Thus, the smart learning process is based on image recognition, this being the form through which the robot gathers the needed information. Besides being able to learn, this robotic hand can also move extremely well. Its wrist and all five fingers are operated by individual servos, which means that each can move independently, according to the move that needs to be performed. So don’t worry about the fact that a robotic hand won’t be able to clearly show its rock-paper-scissors strategy, as HandBot has everything it needs to be clear and explicit.

In case you are interested in getting this robot, do know that it doesn’t have such a high price. The parts needed to build the robotic hand cost around $490. To this, you should also consider the costs triggered by the starter kit provided by Android Things, which is also needed to make HandBot work. As mentioned before, you will get all the pieces needed to make the robot, so you will have to put it together yourself. Don’t worry, as instructions come along as well, so if you have the basic knowledge needed to make a robot or you’re just very skillful, then you will have no problems in putting this robot together. If you are wondering how much will it take to complete the construction of HandBot, the estimates are around 7 hours, if everything goes smoothly. Thus, it is the kind of project you can easily tackle over the weekend. So, before you even know it, you got yourself a smart partner for your rock-paper-scissors game.

While it is not one of the coolest looking robots out there, it is rather impressive and fascinating to see its ability to learn and develop over time. Not to mention that you will experience a great feeling of accomplishment once you manage to put it together and make it work.