HYDE PARK — The Museum of Science and Industry on Saturday will kick off Robotics Week, which will feature a bike-riding robot, an emotion-sensing mechanical seal and a special suit that gives the wearer super-human strength.
The robots from around the world will be on display at the museum at 5700 S. Lake Shore Drive until April 14. Many of the creators of the robots will be on hand to answer questions and demonstrate the robots’ abilities.
The week opens on Saturday with a one-day-only demonstration of Murata Boy, a Japanese bicycle-riding robot that can pedal, stop, start and avoid obstacles just like a human cyclist.
Also on display will be the Hybrid Assistive Limb suit, a mechanized exoskeleton developed for people with disabilities, which gives the wearer the strength of five men.
More than 20 robots will be on view all week, including Paro, a stuffed seal that hides sensors, allowing it to read emotions. Paro recognizes speech and some human feelings and can react in a comforting way to help reduce stress for hospital and nursing home patients.
Robotics Week ends with the BotBall Championship, a competition where teams of high school and middle school students navigate their robots around an obstacle course and collect objects.
