All too often in popular culture, we see man and machine at war with each other. Whether it be Terminators from the future, or Cylons from our distant past, mankind seems destined to forever be at war with the machines we've built. Occasionally though, some human-friendly android comes along that bridges the gap between man and his machinations. For every army of Terminators, there is always one T-800 who protects us. For every fleet of Cylons attempting genocide on the human race, there's always one Cylon like Caprica Six who just wants to sleep with us.
And sometimes, just sometimes, a tiny little robot comes along that actually needs our help to survive.
Tweenbot is one of these robots in need. Designed as an art project by NYU student Kacie Kinzer, Tweenbots are an experiment that look at man's relationship with the world around them, as well as their willingness to help out with something they might not even completely understand. Here is the project as described by its creator:
In New York, we are very occupied with getting from one place to another. I wondered: could a human-like object traverse sidewalks and streets along with us, and in so doing, create a narrative about our relationship to space and our willingness to interact with what we find in it? More importantly, how could our actions be seen within a larger context of human connection that emerges from the complexity of the city itself? To answer these questions, I built robots.
Tweenbots are human-dependent robots that navigate the city with the help of pedestrians they encounter. Rolling at a constant speed, in a straight line, Tweenbots have a destination displayed on a flag, and rely on people they meet to read this flag and to aim them in the right direction to reach their goal.
Given their extreme vulnerability, the vastness of city space, the dangers posed by traffic, suspicion of terrorism, and the possibility that no one would be interested in helping a lost little robot, I initially conceived the Tweenbots as disposable creatures which were more likely to struggle and die in the city than to reach their destination. Because I built them with minimal technology, I had no way of tracking the Tweenbot’s progress, and so I set out on the first test with a video camera hidden in my purse. I placed the Tweenbot down on the sidewalk, and walked far enough away that I would not be observed as the Tweenbot––a smiling 10-inch tall cardboard missionary––bumped along towards his inevitable fate.
Made out of very basic parts, including cardboard and a black sharpie, one of the tiny anthropomorphic robots was set loose on Washington Square Park in New Yor City. It's mission was to get from the Northeast corner of the park to the Southwest corner. How did the little robot do? Was it aided along the way by random humans who stopped to read its sign and give it a helping hand? See the results for yourself.
The results were unexpected. Over the course of the following months, throughout numerous missions, the Tweenbots were successful in rolling from their start point to their far-away destination assisted only by strangers. Every time the robot got caught under a park bench, ground futilely against a curb, or became trapped in a pothole, some passerby would always rescue it and send it toward its goal. Never once was a Tweenbot lost or damaged. Often, people would ignore the instructions to aim the Tweenbot in the “right” direction, if that direction meant sending the robot into a perilous situation. One man turned the robot back in the direction from which it had just come, saying out loud to the Tweenbot, "You can’t go that way, it’s toward the road.”
So not only did the humans who noticed their miniscule robotic brethren stop to help him, they also made sure to keep him out of harms way. Way to go helpful humans. I don't know about you, but I would definitely stop to help a tiny robot in need if I ever saw one.
I know I'm being an optimist here, but it's stories like this that make me hope that one day, humans and machines can live together in harmony. No more nuclear wars, no more genocides, no more taking the mainframes offline for good. Just peace and brotherhood with our robot brothers and sisters.
All I am saying is give robot peace a chance.
(Via Boingboing)
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