Dressing up a rover as a baby penguin-for science! http://t.co/NTIL0TTnBT pic.twitter.com/fwQfUw7gzK
— WIRED (@WIRED) November 2, 2014
Emperor penguins basically have “white coat syndrome,” which makes it a bit difficult for biologists to properly monitor their vital signs, since they’re scared out of their wits whenever researchers come near. That’s where ROBO PENGUIN comes in: His adorable visage sets the penguins at ease while he takes important scientific measurements/melts our hearts.
The little robot was created by researchers and filmmakers, led by Yvon Le Maho of the University of Strasbourg, France, but its first version gave the penguins some uncanny valley issues and just wound up scaring them—a response to robots that we generally share. After several tries, they found a design that the penguins were willing to snuggle up to, sing with, and try to communicate with
“They were very disappointed when there was no answer,” Le Maho told SFGATE. “Next time we will have a rover playing songs.” Robots and penguins living together in harmony, singing songs of the joyous union of their two species. Truly, the penguins have so much to teach us.
- Cute robots want to ask you personal questions
- A robot bear pillow will swat you when you’re snoring
- Robots are improved by 100% when they have moveable cat ears
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