We’ve seen robots made for a variety of uses these days, from preaching religion to painting, so it’s actually somewhat amusing to see scientists use all this technology to make one that is good at Jenga.
This robot does also have a number of other helpful features but most people will be paying attention to the part where they hear about how it can beat them at Jenga, of all things.
Jenga now has a Mascot
According to a report from The Sun, UK scientists have made a new robot called Mascot that has “arms and fingers.” Get that Doctor Octopus imagery out of your head, as the bot was made to do things like fix a super-hot fusion reactor so that normal people won’t have to. Actually, that might make people think about Dock Ock even more.
However, as a way to train for those situations, Mascot plays Jenga a lot so that it can train for its purpose. This is actually fairly common, as the report claims that the UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) uses Jenga to train their human teammates as well. Still, it seems that Mascot might have an advantage as the UK scientists have touted its Jenga capabilities.
Allan Moss, at the UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA), said: “Mascot’s movements are so precise that it’s a bit of a pro at Jenga.”
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What else can it do?
In case anyone isn’t interested in Mascot’s sick Jenga skills, the robot can also do important things like replace tiles, use a screwdriver, do cutting, and even clean up for itself. So if you’re somehow not in the mood to play Jenga then this robot can do actual useful things that can benefit humanity.
To be serious for a minute, handling equipment in a fusion powerplant can be very dangerous, and having robots like this that can help scientists out is great. Hopefully, more robots like Mascot can benefit these workers and save them from nuclear danger from here on out. Plus, they can still play Jenga during their breaks.