The PR2 robot is an amazing piece of hardware. Willow Garage set out to create a world class research platform that would include all the capabilities an engineer could want. As such, the PR2 is packed with sensors, degrees of freedom, and robust systems. Completely open source, the PR2′s specs are free for anyone to peruse, use, and improve. The same is true for ROS, the library of software tools that power the PR2. One of the great things we saw at Willow Garage’s launch party for the PR2 Beta Program was a very accessible presentation about the PR2 by its head architects Eric Berger and Keenan Wyrobek. We’ve got our own personal video of that presentation for you below. Just look at what this bot can do! It’s no surprise that it could be the launching pad for a new era in robotics.

[screen capture and video credit: Singularity Hub]