Don-8r the panhandling robot set to make the homeless obsolete (video)
![](https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/Da6jOVlBYG8FXbD7CaoBKg--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTY3Mg--/https://s.yimg.com/uu/api/res/1.2/CV7DNuHwP3KaYP5RyJyGVg--~B/aD00MjA7dz02MDA7YXBwaWQ9eXRhY2h5b24-/https://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2011/04/don-8r-little-girl.jpg)
Until now, one field has been safe from robotic interference: collecting money on the street. Not for long. A space already overcrowded with guitar playing hippies, dogs in bandanas, and children carrying bright orange UNICEF boxes has a new force to reckon with. It's Don-8r (pronounced "donator," for those who don't speak robot), programmed expressly to collect change and be adorable. University of Dundee student Tim Pryde created the coin-fueled robot to help raise money for charity. It's taken a few spins around the school's campus and has already mastered the three Ps of money collection: politeness, persistence, and performance -- the latter accomplished via color changing lights in its orb-like head. Video of Don-8r doing its thing after the break.