Dual arm robot - Baxter from Rethink Robotics

Baxter is the next-generation industrial robot developed by Rethink Robotics, which is funded by Rodney Brooks, co-founder of iRobot and former director of MIT CSAIL.

First, talks about the mission of Rethink  Robotics that lead them built Baxter:

•Rethink Manufacturing

–All manufacturers should benefit from robot

–Human workforce get promotion

–Reduce repetitive motion injuries

–Greater productivity

•Rethink Offshoring

–Revitalize American factories

–Reduce offshoring by cost-effective robot

–Maximize quality

–Protect intellectual property

–Streamline supply chain

–Keep job from migrating oversea

•Rethink Robotics

–Today’s industrial robot = Computer in 1960s --- expensive and hard to use for ordinary

–Future’s industrial robot = PC today 

Hence, Rethink Robotics plan to built a robot that:

•Ease of use

–no custom programming for new tasks

–employee without relative background can teach robot by moving arms and following guides on friendly GUI

•Cost

–cost just as a midsized car

–avoid the cost from hiring professional software engineer. 

Therefore, here comes Baxter -- a $22,000 dual 7-DoF arm, human-scale robot with compliant joints.
Following are its all feature:

Detail of some features:

Reference:

• http://www.rethinkrobotics.com/
• http://spectrum.ieee.org/robotics/industrial-robots/rethink-robotics-baxter-robot-factory-worker
• http://www.inc.com/magazine/201210/david-h-freedman/the-rise-of-the-robotic-workforce.html
• http://www.hizook.com/blog/2012/09/18/baxter-robot-rethink-robotics-finally-unveiled

P.S. My colleagues and I built the first industrial dual-arm robot from Taiwan in 2014. (Link)