<p>Rodney Brooks, the MIT robotics pioneer behind iRobot and now Rethink Robotics, looks proudly as Baxter manipulates objects on the table.  Just moments before, we "programmed" Baxter to perform a task by simply moving its arms.  It has embedded sensors and elastic actuators so the interface to the world is intuitive and mimics human actions.  
</p><p>It also means the robot is safe to operate among humans.  Right after this photo, Rodney put his head in the path of Baxter's swinging arm, letting it nudge him harmlessly.
</p><p>The out of box experience is also easy.  You just plug Baxter into a standard power outlet.
</p><p>Rethink is rethinking robotics.  The primary use of industrial robots is in automotive - doing dangerous tasks as quickly and precisely as possible.  They are in safety cages and do not work among people.   The application space for Rethink is quite simple — it mimics human capabilities (speed, accuracy, lifting capacity, common sense, adaptability, safety) and can easily be trained, and retrained, by nontechnical workers to perform menial tasks.
</p><p>Baxter reminds me of my first personal computer, the Apple ][, and the revolution in human productivity that ensued.
</p>
I was so wowed by Baxter's ease of use that I gave them their first sale during this HQ tour, below...
<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.flickr.com/people/44124348109@N01">Steve Jurvetson</a> from Los Altos, USA
CC BY 2.0
<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jurvetson/8000143255/">Rethink Robotics — Brooks and Baxter</a>