Your Old Smartphone Could Soon Get a New Robotic Avatar

Your old smartphone tucked away in the drawer is probably getting dustier by the day. It is of no use to you anymore, but it’s still lying around in the house because perhaps the model is too old to be sold at a decent price to a mobile shop or selling it might not even be worth the effort. But what if someone told you that your forgotten phone could get a new lease on life?  

PhoneBot, the brainchild of researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a small-sized walking robot that is powered by an ordinary Android smartphone. It does not depend on pricey computers or specialized censors to do the work but instead relies on the features of a smartphone.  

When a smartphone is inserted into the PhoneBot’s torso, its camera helps the robot to detect people nearby and follow them around. Additionally, the motion sensors keep track of the robot’s tilt and orientation.  

And the coolest part? It can get back on its feet after falling or rolling over. PhoneBot is approximately 48 cm tall and weighs about 1.8 kg. Thirteen small motors assist the robot in moving and walking around. The smartphone acts as its brain and supervises the moves of the robot, while a separate controller gives instructions to the motors. 

PhoneBot's Unique Selling Point (USP) is its price. Its developers estimate the hardware costs to stand at approximately $400, excluding the smartphone. That's way more affordable than many sophisticated humanoid robots.  

It’s pertinent to mention that PhoneBot is still a research prototype. It isn't commercially available and you won't find it delivering groceries, tidying your house or welcoming guests at offices and hotels just yet.  

However, the primary aim of the UCLA researchers is to make robotics easier and more affordable. By integrating gadgets people already own, PhoneBot could give students, tech aficionados and researchers a cost-effective way to experiment with walking robots.