Penguinbot makes the perfect driving companion

by Evan Blass, posted Oct 3rd 2006 at 5:20PM

It's always more fun driving with a buddy than cruising around alone, but since we lack what are referred to as "social skills," there aren't that many folks willing to ride shotgun in our car or hop on the handlebars of our Segway. Enter the robotic driving companion from Pioneer, a little penguin-shaped bot being shown off at CEATEC that perches on your dashboard and seems to act as a blinking, chirping second set of eyes on the road (or a backseat driver, if you will). Unfortunately -- due to garbled machine translation -- it's nearly impossible for us to discern all the features offered by this device, but we think that its embedded camera and image recognition software allow it to remind you when the light has changed, alert you if you're swerving ("Officer, I swear I'm not drunk -- see, my robot penguin hasn't chirped at me once"), or give you a heads-up when you pass a "point of interest" (such as a ferris wheel, helpfully suggests the Impress write-up). No word yet on pricing or availability for this lively road trip partner, nor is it clear whether sporting one qualifies you for the carpool lane. Keep reading to check out the unnamed bot "in action" (i.e. sitting motionless in front of a driving simulator), and then hit the read link for a few more snaps and short video...

Filed under: Robots, Transportation

Tags: ceatec, driving, image recognition, ImageRecognition, penguins, robots

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Neutral

Owen V @ Oct 3rd 2006 5:25PM

I dont care how useless it is I want it

Neutral

Dark Morford @ Oct 3rd 2006 5:33PM

I, for one, welcome our driving penguin overlords.

Neutral

i3c @ Oct 3rd 2006 5:35PM

maybe it can "flip the bird" for you?

Neutral

CharlieX @ Oct 3rd 2006 5:39PM

Man: Hello! Well, it's just after eight o'clock, and time for the penguin on top of your [dashboard] to explode.

Neutral

kevin @ Oct 3rd 2006 6:03PM

i'll name him.... R2D2.

Neutral

ChillyWilly @ Oct 3rd 2006 6:15PM

Got to get this. Looks way cool, plus it's a penguin... how can I resist.

Neutral

Zach @ Oct 3rd 2006 8:37PM

haha I can just see it now

"Holy shit!!! Slow the FUCK DOWN!!!"""

though, I'm actually kinda interested in seeing this thing in action. I hate to drive alone, I get bored... and people give me funny stares as I sing along to the Rent Soundtrack over and over

Neutral

LocDown @ Oct 3rd 2006 8:43PM

it's a penguin. why not?! :)

Neutral

Pete @ Oct 4th 2006 8:43AM

But does it run linux?

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