Crab Fu's Flapper fish bot creeps us the hell out

Remember that one time when you went fishing with your dad, and you got a bite and lugged the fish onto the dock, only to watch it thrash around on the dock for a little bit like the most pitiful thing alive, so then you felt bad and threw it back, but even then you still knew he would hate you forever for putting him through that? Yeah, well Flapper is that in robot form. It's Crab Fu's latest RC robot project, featuring that trademark uncanny valley look and motion of Crab Fu, in a convenient fish form factor. Video is after the break.

[Chris Are @ Jul 14th 2008 11:51AM]

That noise reminds me of some kind of creepo cricket or something.

[Konstantin @ Jul 14th 2008 11:52AM]

You know that thing that crawls into Keanu Reeve's belly button in the Matrix. Yeah, there it is.

[ybd @ Jul 14th 2008 12:17PM]

Highest Ranked.

[Lowest Ranked @ Jul 14th 2008 11:56AM]

I can't really say I'm looking forward to any kind of welcoming of any kind of aquatic, robotic overlords.

[Harkonian @ Jul 14th 2008 11:57AM]

Throw some water-proof gear on it and let's see that bad boy swim!

[elan @ Jul 14th 2008 12:08PM]

Does that picture remind anyone else of the music video for Autechre's "Second Bad Vilbel"?

[natels @ Jul 14th 2008 12:04PM]

I don't think anyone has seen that video.

[johnzilla @ Jul 14th 2008 3:34PM]

Who?

[kal326 @ Jul 14th 2008 12:06PM]

I really hope that controller has some sort of macro or scripting function otherwise getting that thing to swim very far in an organized fashion would seem to be a bit of a pain in the ass.

[Jerry Lundegaard @ Jul 14th 2008 12:10PM]

Good old fashion nightmare fuel right there.

[Shotgun @ Jul 14th 2008 12:12PM]

Attach a laser beam to its head

[takamaru @ Jul 14th 2008 12:35PM]

FTW!

[John H. @ Jul 14th 2008 12:23PM]

but will it bl...never mind

[TheDude @ Jul 14th 2008 12:25PM]

We need a synergy of the paradigm and the solution-oriented metrics. The incremental win-win, Gen-X customer-centric, value-added bonus is, of course, at the end of the day, outside of the box.
-some robots are scary... : )

[Terpy @ Jul 14th 2008 12:24PM]

Smack it in the head with a paddle, that usually works for me.

[Josh L @ Jul 14th 2008 12:35PM]

Big Mouth Billy Bass - 2008 Edition

[gotsmart @ Jul 14th 2008 12:41PM]

That's awesome. I'd love to see if it can swim. But obviously it would need some kind of robotic ballast control in order to adjust its flotation.

[xfrz @ Jul 14th 2008 1:19PM]

Isn't the term "(ro)bot" used a little too loosely here? As far as i can see, this is just a "remote controlled mechanical fish". I would assume a robot has to have at least some kind of capacity to move autonomously.

[Ryan Trevisol @ Jul 14th 2008 1:09PM]

All those tired phrases are vastly outweighed by complaining comments. I feel bad for Engadget. No matter what they do, they can never satisfy everyone.

[BeniRose @ Jul 14th 2008 1:26PM]

I'm not really sure what makes that mechanical jittery noise when he's not pressing the buttons, but it makes the bot all that much more creepy.

[M.Samba @ Jul 14th 2008 1:48PM]

I just loved the analogy that Paul used.

[Mark B @ Jul 14th 2008 2:05PM]

very Uncanny Valley...some robots get into that creep zone.

Makes me want to hit it with a sledge hammer to put the poor lil' fella outta his misery. :(

[Jaime Prose @ Jul 14th 2008 2:53PM]

But can it play doom?


I mean swim under water?

[ShadowKain @ Jul 14th 2008 3:44PM]

A goldfish that doesn't die? Idk, but something about seein a real pirahana is better to me etc. Altought having these in restaurants or museums would be neat.

[pbase @ Jul 14th 2008 6:37PM]

You see all them there ads on the top and sides of the page? What's that equate to, $15, $20k per month?

Don't pity Engadget too much.

[zounds Padang @ Jul 14th 2008 10:29PM]

ALRIGHT we get it it looks like a fish. Now, be a good boy and put some rubber on it, add an air bladder and PUT IT IN THE FUCKING WATER!


really cool though despite my attitude.

[Greg @ Jul 15th 2008 12:39AM]

The writing used to be funny, maybe because the gags were new, but probably because it was just better. Now it's bad. Lots of shtick, little information, poor command of science and a mockery of it (in a tech blog!), and poor command of English as well. I skim through it faster and faster, spending less and less time here. Watch out Engadget, you're losing us.

[Holger @ Jul 15th 2008 11:32AM]

Well the bot is actually kinda nice... can right itself... is very simple and can move ok enough...