Baby steps for Dexter the robot

Dexter is an upright, humanoid robot that is taking shape and getting exercise at Mountain View, Calif.-based start-up Anybots, which wants to make robots more human. At the moment, that apparently means skeletal and a bit shaky on its feet, but baby steps are always the beginning.

Dexter is notable in several ways. First, it's designed as a humanoid at a time when most robots, at least in the U.S. and Europe, are anything but. Just consider machines like Roomba, the disc-shaped vacuum cleaner from iRobot, or the salamander robot that emerged recently from the labs of a Swiss university.

Second, Dexter makes extensive use of pneumatic technology—that is, Anybots uses air cylinders to drive the arms and legs. That goes against the grain of current trends in the robotics industry.

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