It’s Alive! This Robotic Table Can Carry Objects Across Its Surface

Hirotaka Niisato/Twitter

The Tokyo International Robot Exhibition showcased a very AI-centric future and tables that could come "alive" to move objects. The future looks robotic.

Robots. Robots. Robots. Walk into the Tokyo International Robot Exhibition, and you are bound to see something that mesmerizes, captivates, and intrigues your curious mind. This year's exhibition continued that tradition.

The robots displayed this year included robots that could tell stories, dance, act like mans best friend, plant, and talk to you. Unfortunately, there were not any Gundams.

Imagine you are sitting at a rather large dining table with 12 friends and family. Better yet, maybe you do not know that many people around the table. You have enjoyed a few delicious glasses of wine and an exquisite meal. But now, you are eyeing that bottle of wine all the way at the end table. You want to continue your wine indulgence. No worries, you won't have to awkwardly ask for the bottle or get up to get it. The table you are sitting at is "alive" and transports the bottle over to you while you are seated. Enter the "magic living table."

Created by Intelligent Actuator, the magic table can move and manipulate objects across its surface. Similar, to the interactive pin table created by MIT's Tangible Media Group, the table is one of the many products at the Tokyo International Robot Exhibition tasked with making mundane tasks a little more interesting.

Intelligent Actuator, also known as IAI, is Japanese robotics design company. Founded in 1976, Intelligent Actuator's dedication to quality and innovation "sets forth a catalyst for the pursuit of new methods and forward thinking to create new possibilities." IAI is one of the world's largest producer of cartesian coordinate robots and SCARA robots. The IAI company philosophy remains "quality and innovation," IAI is always working to improve existing technology and services."