Tweenbots

I know Tweenbots has been on every blog in the past couple days, but I love the idea too much to not add it to my collection as well. Tweenbots is an art experiment by Kacie Kinzer that looks at how robots and humans interact. Tweenbots are cute little cardboard robots which try to navigate the streets of New York. These robots are unique because they are human defendant. They only have the ability to go in a straight line and rely on human interaction to navigate complicated routes. The website has some great video of a Tweenbot trying to navigate its way through Washington Square Park. It gets stuck under benches, and in potholes... but people consistently come to its rescue. The trek apparently only took 42 minutes and 29 human interventions.

I love this project for so many reasons. Partially, I just enjoy the idea that people would help inanimate objects with a task. Mostly, I like this project because it challenges the typical thinking about robots. Robots are not necessarily going to take over the Earth, we can live peacefully together... they might just need our help. Let the robots contribute what they are good at, and let the people contribute what they are good at. I love crowdsourcing.