$4M robots 'graduate' to universities

MENLO PARK, Calif., May 27 (UPI) -- A California robotics research lab held a "graduation party" for 11 robots being shipped off to academic institutions around the world, organizers said.

Willow Garage in Menlo Park said the robots, dubbed the PR2, or Personal Robot 2, are bound for institutions including the University of Tokyo, Germany's University of Freiburg and Stanford University in California, the San Francisco Chronicle reported Thursday.

The garage held a party Wednesday for the PR2s, which are worth a total of more than $4 million, to celebrate their "graduation" and show off some of the capabilities of the machines, which are comprised of a mobile base and mechanical arms.

Steve Cousins, president and chief executive of Willow Garage, said the PR2s represent an effort to "get robots out of factories and into the real world," where robots can help with everyday activities like folding clothes.

He said the robots are being provided to the institutions for free for two years as part of the scheme to bolster robotics development.