'Big Hero 6' star Baymax was inspired by a real robot

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Big Hero 6, the animated movie launching Friday, features Baymax — a lovable, soft, inflatable robot that looks like it came from Disney's fantasy machine more than anything in real life

The reality, however, is that it was inspired by hardcore robot research in a Pittsburgh lab.

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In 2011, Carnegie Mellon University scientist Siddharth Sanan, working with Mike Ornstein and Justin B. Moidel, under the guidance of Professor Christopher Atkeson, built a functioning, inflatable robot arm — a breakthrough in what is known as soft robotics. Read more...

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