Without a Traceroute

It’s like regular fame, only without any of the wealth, recognition, or offers of sex that usually accompany it.

So Roboexotica was featured on BoingBoing Gadgets, the recently-launched BoingBoing spinoff which is kind of exactly like Gizmodo, Engadget, Gadgetizer, GadgetVenue, Wired GadgetLab, TheGadgetBlog, and Ubergizmo. Clearly, the world was crying out for a new gadget blog.

Anyway, the photo they chose for the story features none other than yours truly, driving Chassis! His creators were very kind in letting me drive their expensive, awesome robot. He’s fairly simple to control, with a two-joystick tank-tread-style control scheme. But the joysticks are analog, and his motors are actually pretty powerful. It’s easy to push too far and send Chassis careening across the room. Also, one joystick is a bit more sensitive than the other (“He has a limp,” they tell me) so you have to learn to correct for that if you want him to go straight at all. There are also buttons on the remote that make him blink, wink, dispense beer, or rotate the little metal fan on his head.

They also let me try the headset and take a turn doing the voice for Chassis, frightening small children when the robot talked to them (I was nice!) and amusing drunk adults.

There were a lot of robots at Roboexotica, and I didn’t have a chance to get good photos of all of them, or the alcohol tolerance to sample all of their creations, but here’s some more.

I, for one, welcome our new robot overlords!

This is RoboVox, a giant statue of a robot standing outside the gallery where Roboexotica is being held. I saw a talk by his creator, and he admitted that RoboVox is “more of a monument than a robot,” but it’s still pretty impressive and imposing. The “vox” part comes in because there’s a special phone number you can send a text message to, and the robot’s eyes and mouth will light up and it will read your text out in a booming, synthesized robot-voice. If anyone wants to mess with random Austrian passersby, RoboVox will be up at least until this Sunday, and you can send a text to: (0043)68110679782. Watch out though, international texts can be pricey. Oh, and I’ve already made it say “All your base are belong to us!” (more…)