A robot that folds laundry or serves drinks is not just from science fiction novels or futuristic TV shows. Currently, it is the work done by the Bosch Research and Technology Center (RTC) North America where research is underway to advance the robotics industry with a robot named "Alan." Part of the Personal Robot 2 (PR2) Beta Program, a project that partners Bosch with Willow Garage, Inc., and leading universities such as Stanford University, University of California Berkeley, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and others, Alan represents Bosch's contribution to accelerating technologies with the PR2 open-source community, increasing functionality, reducing production costs and improving safety of the PR2.

"It is estimated that consumers will enjoy the functionality of personal robots within the next five to 10 years," said Peter Marks, chairman, president and CEO, Robert Bosch LLC and member of the Board of Management. "The progress of this PR2 program in computing power and sensor technology, which was not feasible before now, is groundbreaking and indicative of Bosch's tradition of innovation. We look forward to a day when robots like Alan help make our lives at home simpler."

Putting hardware and software solutions to the test, Bosch is enabling new applications, reducing the cost and improving the PR2's safety through work in four areas: shared autonomy (human assistance); remote experimentation; affordable sensing (devices that process data); and hackathons (exploring new applications using agile development methods).

One significant development is Bosch's work to enable a PR2 to receive help from human operators, significantly increasing reliability and efficiency. Additionally, expanding research initiatives, Bosch developed the PR2 Remote Lab, a research lab where users can remotely develop, test and compare calculations, creating an infrastructure for the PR2 to be controlled over the Internet.

"Advanced applications are shaping the robotics industry, predicted to be worth $15 billion within the next decade, helping people in need accomplish challenging tasks," said Jan Becker, senior manager, Bosch Research and Technology Center North America.