Robot Sunflower Follows Hand Movements
August 7th, 2009
Merging nature with robotics, Himawari is a robotic sunflower. Instead of moving toward the sun, which is the sunflower’s basic instinct, this one follows your hand’s movement, mimicking the real flower. It was designed by Akira Nakayasu of Kyushu University, Japan and Himawari is on display at Robosquare in Fukuoka.
The impulse to follow the hand motion is accomplished using an infrared camera within its head. A cluster of 48 white LEDs on the head reflect light corresponding to the hands that are waving nearby. The information is captured by the camera and sent to an attached PC, which processes the data and directs servomotors in the robots stalk to turn the head. Video below.
