MIT’s Actuated Workbench Can Move Physical Things From A Distance

In what direction is technology heading? Do we even know anymore? There’s no doubt we are becoming more mobile, and innovators and developers are constantly dreaming up new ways to take the online experience to a whole new level. Mobility is not only about being able to connect to the Internet wherever we are, it’s also the way we interact with people and things around the world. That is something MIT wants to make clear with their quite impressive actuated workbench.

We are just now seeing apps and devices that will enable us to unlock, start / stop and manipulate settings of physical objects from a distance, but when it comes to moving physical objects, there hasn’t been too much rolled out or even unveiled. A few years ago, an MIT student named Dan Aminzade put together an actuated workbench that could take technology to a whole new level of usefulness if it’s perfected.

So what exactly is an actuated workbench, and what can you do with it? Well, think of it as a table on which you can place physical objects. By having a twin table located somewhere else, you can move, manipulate and change the physical objects on both tables from a distance. It’s the ultimate tool for teams that are not located in the same facility. The actuated workbench was Mr. Aminzade’s  Master’s project in 2009, and if he has been refining it ever since, I think we can expect something quite impressive in the near future.

That of course depends on whether or not he decides to make an actual product out of it, and what use companies and individuals can find for it. There’s no doubt it is kind of freaky to see physical objects move around by themselves, and even see the other person’s, which could be located anywhere in the world. Hand shadows move like a ghost over the actuated workbench. It’s a technology that is impressive enough to grab your attention, but when it comes to the common use of it, I don’t even know where to place it. Nevertheless, it’s a product that definitely should have a place in any respectable geeks laboratory, don’t you think?

Dan Aminzade’s MIT Master’s Project – Actuated Workbench

(Low Resolution Images Of Dan’s Early Work)