Promotional robots
Gil Kaufman points us to Atlas Robotics, makers of attention-seeking robots. (They also have a human Star Wars show with, er, "impersonators.") Gil says Atlas's whole robot scene reminds him of the 70s science fiction sitcom Quark. I'm not sure if that's good or bad. From the Atlas page:
Atlas RoboticsThe robot can say, for example, "congratulations on your promotion Mr. Jones." or " I heard about your new car, how's it running Ms. Jennings"?
The guests usually cannot figure out how the robot knows this information.
Of course the robot can also inform people that the "coat-check" is to your left and "the bar is to your right".
At Parties our Robots can greet your guests as they arrive, stimulate and entertain your group through interactive joking, dancing and playing.
They can deliver a custom "rap", be part of a company skit, or "roast" your guest of honor.
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The robot can say, for example, "congratulations on your promotion Mr. Jones." or " I heard about your new car, how's it running Ms. Jennings"?
Great, so now instead of just having to avoid meaningless, asinine smalltalk with humans, I'm going to have to avoid it with robots too.
There was one of these at a MetalCon trade show I went to a few years back. It read off an RFID tag embedded in the attendee's nametag, plus there was a guy hidden somewhere that fed "witty repartee" to the robot... in other words, made fun of attendees.
OMG ill take one of each
:D
:D
:D
:D
...yes, but can they make me a robot that glides into the room to 80's synth music and then looks at me and says "HAPPY BIRTHDAY PAULIE"?
Because if they can't, I am not interested.
The japanese fashion model robots make these look like retarded mongoloids. Its like the difference between an old hand cranked telephone and an iphone. Did this company emerge from a time machine or something?
#5: Hold your horses. According to the press release, they're working on a line big-eyed, low-bang'd, small-mouthed models with optional tentacle rape modules.
My sister had one of the robots at her Bat Mitzvah.
Sorry, I have no joke to follow.
@INKFUMES, those fashion robots cost a few hundred grand. The mere existence of something doesn't mean the technology is cheap enough to spill down into Chuck E. Cheese just yet. The space shuttle exists...but I can't afford to drive one to work.
@PETRE, you may not have had a joke to follow but I laughed at your post anyway - the jokes just write themselves (all respectful of your sister, I assure you).
Remember in elementary school how the little dorks and geeks kinda clustered together during recess? This guy's 'bots look like that group in Robot School.
A sitcom NEEDS to be set in the offices of this corporation.
The robots could just aimlessly wander through the scenes to audience laughter each time they interrupted the dialogue or ran into the scenery.
It would be hilarious... and then Fox would cancel it.
"or "roast" your guest of honor."
Hopefully the robot will know not to take that literally.
Which of these comes equipped with Real People Personalities?
These R2 units don't have "bad" motivators, they have "sad" motivators.
No self-respecting Jawa would stop his Sandcrawler—let alone say "Ootini!" for these so-called "robots."
OK. After reading through the website I'm getting this real sad marginal-showbiz vibe. Like, in 20 years Boing Boing will do this story about tracking down all of the lost Atlas robots, and go to a nursing home to interview the last guy who knows how to operate them.
I want one to say:
"My hovercraft is full of eels."
Just because.
Icky
"..those fashion robots cost a few hundred grand."
HRP-4C cost US$2,030,800 (200 million yen) to develop.
These look pretty cool unless they start saying "Fish, and plankton, and sea greens and protein from the sea". Then you'll need to run.
Wow, those look like escapees from Tommy Bartlett's Robot World from the 70s/80s.
I think it's called something else now, but the robots were outdated even then.
@10 Sitcom - awesome. Like The Office, but with more ring modulation.
@14 Indeed, these are definitely trinkets of future nostalgia.
These robots reminded me of a very, very dim memory from when I was probably 4 or something. I think it was in California and it was a restaurant where "robots" (this would have been in the early 80s) served people... I remember getting a bunch of smarties-like robot-shaped candy in a large, clear, plastic robot-shaped contianer. Uh.. anyone have any idea what I'm talking about?