Pinokio, the Robot Lamp That Wants Your Attention

Chris Higgins
Vimeo / Adam Ben-Dror
Vimeo / Adam Ben-Dror / Vimeo / Adam Ben-Dror
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Pinokio is a robotic lamp that acts like a needy pet. I've seen dogs that wanted less attention than this lamp. Using facial recognition, the lamp attempts to maintain "eye contact" with humans, and if it's lost, Pinokio looks around, trying to gain the attention of the lost human. (If Pinokio gets lost, it can hear hand-claps to re-orient.) My favorite part comes at the end, when Pinokio displays some anti-Ultimate Machine behavior. Enjoy:

Pinokio from Adam Ben-Dror on Vimeo.

Pinokio was created by Shanshan Zhou, Adam Ben-Dror, and Joss Dogget. For more on the project, check out Pinokio's website, and scroll around for photos of the robot in action. There's also a nice overview from Ars Technica, including a snippet of source code.

Oh yeah, and if the idea of an anthropomorphic lamp seems familiar, please re-watch Pixar's Luxo Jr.

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