In an effort to minimize injury and let carpenters focus on design and other bigger-picture tasks, a team from MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) has created AutoSaw, a new system to help in carpentry work, reported the German News Agency.
This system allows non-experts customize different items that can then be constructed with the help of robots. Users can choose from a range of designed templates for chairs, desks and other furniture.
The research team says that AutoSaw could eventually be used for projects as large as a deck or a porch.
Jeffrey Lipton, who partook in the project, said: “If you're building a deck, you have to cut large sections of lumber to length, and that's often done on site. But, every time you put a hand near a blade, you're at risk. To avoid that, we've largely automated the process using a chop-saw and jigsaw.”
The Phys.org website reported that the system also gives general users more flexibility in designing furniture to be able to fit space-constrained houses and apartments. For example, it could allow you to modify a desk to squeeze into a small living room, or customize a table to fit in your micro-kitchen.