Kuka Laboratories shows off its educational robot (video)

Kuka Laboratories is creating robots to help teach young people how robotics actually works and how it will shape future technology.

Robots always seem to capture our imagination. We loved watching NASA’s Mars Rover explore the red planet, squealed when we heard Wall-e say his own name, but now it’s time to learn from them, according to Dominic Bösl of Kuka Laboratories, who chatted with VentureBeat at our Mobile Summit 2012 conference earlier this week. He believes people should learn about the way robots move and interact with the environment to better understand the future of robotics and technology overall.

Kuka is reaching out to mobile companies, looking for new ways mobile technology can enhance Kuka’s educational robots. For instance, some have considered creating whole applications stores for robots, similar to what we have on the smartphone. These apps could give the robot different utility and entertainment functions without the need for extra hardware.

Don’t expect to see this guy in your son’s high school classroom, though. The smallest version of this robot costs 24,000 euros, and the prices just go up from there.