blabdroid
Latest
The only thing keeping robots down is you
The robots are coming. And I don't mean to the factory floor, or your kid's toy box. I mean to your living room, your office and your everyday life. The question is no longer a matter of if, but when. Some might even wonder why we don't already have a robot in every home. Designers will tell you they know how to build a successful home robot. They know the key is the ability to build social, if not emotional relationships. And they have a whole bag of tricks and research they can turn to for help. We haven't seen the level of artificial intelligence needed in consumer products yet, but it certainly seems as if we're getting pretty close in the lab. So if it's not a question of technology or design, what's the holdup?
Cute robots make good filmmakers and maybe better companions
What is the last risk you took? Who do you love most in the world? If you died tomorrow, what would you regret the most? Posing those questions to your friends would probably net you a snide rejoinder, and a stranger would walk away in a huff (if you were lucky). Artist and engineer Alexander Reben wanted to explore what kinds of relationships could arise between humans and robots, so he did the only logical thing: he and his team build a legion of cute machines to ask those very questions.
Five questions for the man who created a robot documentarian
We've spilled buckets of digital ink on headless horse bots, uncanny humanoids and the coming of the robot apocalypse, but there's a softer, more emotional side to these machines. Social robots, as they're referred to, are less mechanized overlords and more emotional-support automatons, providing companionship as well as utility. Robots like these are forcing us to consider how we interact with the technology that we've created. Under the direction of artist/roboticist Alexander Reben and filmmaker Brent Hoff, a fleet of precious, cardboard BlabDroids, set out to explore the shifting boundaries of human-robot interaction. These tiny, wheeled machines aren't automated playthings, but serious documentarians seeking an answer to a deceptively simple question: "Can you have a meaningful interaction with a machine?" We'll dive deeper into the topic at Expand this weekend, but in the meantime, here's a short Q&A with Reben on an incredibly complex topic.
More to expect at our free Engadget Expand event in NYC!
If you're keeping score, we've announced a bunch of great speakers heading to this year's Engadget Expand (such as RJD2 and the head of DARPA, Arati Prabhakar). Of course there's plenty more where that came from and we're excited to announce what else you'll see at the Javits Center on November 7-8 in New York City!
