Tweenbots - Every Now And Then My Faith In Humanity Is Restored By The Little Things We Do...

[JeffreyWilliamson]

http://www.tweenbots.com/

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.

And the results?

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.”

Video at the link.

[rockymountaindem]

1. Cool! I am smiling from ear to ear.

Thanks!

[blonndee]

2. That's really neat!

Thanks for posting this. That makes me smile.

[susanna]

3. That's fantastic...love the results.

Paradoxically, it makes me even more cynical...at least as regards the M$M and their "Danger everywhere! All the time!" reporting.

To be fair, I don't believe all people are good; far from it. I've seen some evil in my day. But I do believe that the majority of people try to do the helpful thing. Of course I also admit that I'd be a crappy scientist, because I love the fact that this story supports my own bias. :-)

[Duer 157099]

4. Just watch Amazing Race, it's almost the same thing

I'm not at all surprised by the result