Besides just being extremely cool, robots these days are actually assisting us in completing many tasks from fetching a cold beer right out of the refrigerator the second you find yourself in need of a refill to even accurately measuring how hot a data center is. That latter is exactly what IBM has just debuted, and it can drive energy efficiency to unparalleled levels to boot.
Interestingly enough, this new robotic innovation is built upon the foundation of the iRobot Roomba, a robot-based vacuum cleaner that can collect dirt, pet hair and other assorted debris without you even being in the room. IBM hasn’t stopped with just this product though, instead producing many that leverage iRobot Create, its own version of the widely popular vacuum that is ideal for data centers. Complete with the ability to measure both temperature and humidity in these settings, enterprises throughout the world are flocking to this solution like hot cakes to ensure their data centers won’t suffer from overheating and that cold air is being evenly circulated throughout the facility.
“We currently have 11 production robots deployed in four continents, nine of which are at IBM data centers and two of which are used for customer engagements,” IBM Researcher Jonathan Lenchner said in a statement. “We expect to have quite a few more robots deployed by the end of this year.
Additionally, according to a recent article the ‘bots can scan RFID tags, is a capability welcomed by almost every industry looking to keep close tabs on costly equipment.
Being able to quickly pinpoint small problems before they become major issues will prove incredibly handy for any business looking to remain profitable for years to come.
Lenchner added, “As it navigates the data center it also reads the RFID tags on the equipment and thereby locates the individual servers, storage and networking equipment quite precisely, and much more inexpensively than if one were to put RFID readers in each rack, which is the common practice today.”
In a separate report, RobotXworld Contributor Ed Silverstein outlined that just recently researchers at Cornell University have developed a virtual demonstration that can depict how robotic creatures can evolve quickly and could soon be doing much more than simply cleaning, fetching cold drinks and measuring the temperature of a data center.
Silverstein commented that by using 3D printing, algorithms and theories such as natural selection, the research team at the Cornell Creative Machines Lab helped the public to better understand the evolution of these simulated robots.
If robots intrigue you, you are sure to be amused in the next few months as even more developments in this vertical continue to be unveiled.
via TechWeek Europe
