#blabdroid

[itschristafur]

#blabdroid this is so #cute #robot #newmediaparty

[deathliveshow]

I met Alexander Reben at FooCamp this year, where he and his partner were demo'ing their current project, Blabdroid, a documentary being filmed entirely by robots. When we got to talking about death, Alexander shared this sculpture of his with me:

This electromechanical sculpture was 'born' in Nashville, Tennessee on 2 June 2012, at 6:18 PM. It has been programmed to have the average human lifespan of babies born in Tennessee on that same day: approximately 78 years. The kick drum beats its heartbeat (at 60 beats per minute), and the mechanical counter displays the number of heartbeats remaining in its lifetime. An internal, battery-operated clock keeps track of the passing time when the sculpture is unplugged. The sculpture will die once the counter reaches zero.

I loved hearing about the viewers' emotional reactions to the live piece; Alexander said often, people were moved to tears witnessing this artificial life counting down. Alexander's work in using technology to draw out humanity is just fascinating--don't miss your chance to speak with a Blabdroid if you get it.

[thevaultmagazine]

Would you tell a cute robot things you'd never tell a stranger?

(via)

[brasspistol]

Cecil the Blabdroid living it up at Tribeca Film Festival! Me and Jordan (onelastchancetobreathe) are great babysitters

[robotawareness]

Would you open up to a robot? Can robots make a better documentary than humans can?

Filmmaker Brent Hoff and roboticist Alex Reben are testing out this idea and setting out to make the first documentary shot and directed by robots. BlabDroids — little adorable robots equipped with microphones, loudspeakers and heat sensors — ask probing questions.

Amazing exchanges like this occur:

Subject (holding the bot up to a mirror): “Here, this is you. I hope you like yourself.”

Cubie: “I have no feelings, but if I did the feeling would be mutual.”

Teaser is here.

via Wired