“New RFID technology helps robots find household objects” is the actual headline of this University of Washington and Georgia Institute of Technology press release describing the work of UW CSE and EE faculty member Matt Reynolds.
If a PR2 takes as long to find car keys as it does to fold laundry, we have three words for you: “Take the bus.”
Actually, we have three additional words for you: “Read more here.”
Addendum: The research paper describing this work – “Finding and Navigating to Household Objects with UHF RFID Tags by Optimizing RF Signal Strength” by Travis Deyle, Matt Reynolds, and Charlie Kemp – was one of 3 Finalists (out of over 1,600 papers submitted) for the IROS 2014 Robocup Best Paper Award!