Two arm system
As the next step it is planned to make up a two armed body of two LWRs with three degrees of freedom in the torso (eg. roll – pitch – pitch, with position coupling for the part holding the arms). With this setup research on two armed action and interaction shall be performed. The moving capabilities allow to orient and to move the bi-handed manipulation area in 3D. By this it becomes possible to manipulate objects on ground level or normal working height or in varying distances from a fixed level platform. The two arm system will be equipped with a 3D camera head which also may be actuated and may include the DLR Laser Range Scanner.
Integrated Robot arm with hand
In the research field of human haptics it is planned to join a next generation artificial hand with an arm that is specially designed for operating the hand. To achieve anthropomorphic size it is necessary to build an integrated system where arm and hand are part of one robot and cannot be separated. The goal is anthropomorphic size and shape as well as performance data and manipulation capabilities (see DLR Hand II future versions).
Commercialization of the Robot/ Low-cost system
There is an increasing demand for light-weight robots. Service robots, robo workers and flexible industrial robots will have to have the features the light-weight robot offers. Together with the major robot manufacturers we intend to commercialize the light-weight robot. Probably there will be two versions available, one low-cost version with reduced capability and a version with all the features LWR III offers.