Scientist's Night: Robot Rally and TEMI Assistant - Future Technologies at Your Fingertips
Scientist’s Night has always offered exciting activities for science and technology enthusiasts, but this year the spotlight was on the robot rally workshop, where participants had the chance to experience innovative solutions and challenges presented by controlling physical devices over the internet. In the workshop, participants remotely controlled a telepresence robot located on another floor and guided it through a specially designed race track, competing against the clock. This task provided hands-on experience in operating a physical device where there could be latency in the control response. Even small delays in transmitting control signals gave participants a realistic view of the challenges involved in remote control. Precision and timing were crucial, making this technological experience highly engaging.
Another highlight of the workshop was the chance to interact with the Robot TEMI. Participants had the opportunity to communicate with TEMI and assess whether such a robot could potentially take over certain human tasks. Could TEMI be intelligent and capable enough to replace human roles, such as in customer service or as a home assistant? These questions sparked discussions and reflections on the relationship between future jobs and technology.
According to statistics, the robot rally workshop was extremely popular – tickets were sold out even before the event began. During the event, the White TEMI robot was active between 15:57 and 20:05. Although the robot managed to complete 3-5 longer cycles, it never reached a full hour of continuous operation without interactions, illustrating the complexity of keeping such devices running smoothly. In conclusion, Researchers’ Night provided numerous exciting moments and broadened participants’ understanding of future technologies. Taking part in the robot rally workshop offered a glimpse into the technical challenges that need to be overcome as we move towards increasing the use of remotely controlled devices and robots in the future.
