WEBVTT - 9 Highly Specific Robots You Need to Meet

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<v Speaker 1>Guess what will? What's that mango? So I know you've

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<v Speaker 1>gotten really unto running recently, and I think there's an

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<v Speaker 1>accessory from Japan you really need to invest in. It's

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<v Speaker 1>called tomaton. Tomaton that sounds cool. So so what's a toomaton? Well,

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<v Speaker 1>it's exactly what it sounds like. It's a robot backpack

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<v Speaker 1>that feeds you tomatoes on the run. That is not

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<v Speaker 1>what I expected to say that that is much less

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<v Speaker 1>cool than I expected. Basically, there's this giant cartoony tomato

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<v Speaker 1>that sits on your head and it's got this clear

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<v Speaker 1>tube full of tomatoes that kind of hangs down your spine.

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<v Speaker 1>And as you run, this robotic arm swoops back to

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<v Speaker 1>grab a tomato, and then it swoops down in front

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<v Speaker 1>of you with that juicy fruit and sticks it in

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<v Speaker 1>your face. And I'm kind of surprised more elite athletes

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<v Speaker 1>don't use it. Well, you know, my kids already make

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<v Speaker 1>fun of me for what I look like when I run,

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<v Speaker 1>and so I can only imagine this is just going

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<v Speaker 1>to give them that much more ammunition, which is probably

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<v Speaker 1>all the more reason I should do it. But I'm

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<v Speaker 1>curious why tomatoes, of all things I've never wanted a

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<v Speaker 1>tomato while I was running, Well you haven't before, but

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<v Speaker 1>now you will. So it was invented by this company

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<v Speaker 1>called Kagome, which is Japan's premiere tomato juice and catchup

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<v Speaker 1>manufacturer apparently. But I am not done talking about Tamaton

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<v Speaker 1>just yet. So while the original Tmaton is pretty good

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<v Speaker 1>for five k's, you might want to look into the

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<v Speaker 1>petite Tamaton for marathons. It's uh, it's lighter, smaller. Instead

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<v Speaker 1>of um that robot arm feeder, It's got a trigger

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<v Speaker 1>and a tube and you can actually shoot tiny tomatoes

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<v Speaker 1>in your mouth anytime you want. It does have a

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<v Speaker 1>tomato timer that prevents you from eating too many tomatoes

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<v Speaker 1>too quickly, so you do pace yourself with it. So

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<v Speaker 1>that's that's really impressive. I can't say that I've ever

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<v Speaker 1>been at risk of feeding myself too many of anything

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<v Speaker 1>while on a long run, but whatever, that's great. Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>well it's just the first of nine facts about robots

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<v Speaker 1>we're covering for today's show, Celesidising Day their podcast listeners,

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Part Time Genius. I'm Will Pearson and is

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<v Speaker 1>always I'm joined by my good friend Mangesh Ticketer and

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<v Speaker 1>sitting behind the soundproof glass. Now this guy is working

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<v Speaker 1>on another movie reboot now Mango. We've seen him work

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<v Speaker 1>on so many ideas for movie reboots, and this one

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<v Speaker 1>is for a feminist reboot for Short Circuit too. So

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<v Speaker 1>I think this is gonna be a big one. This

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<v Speaker 1>may be his most brilliant one yet. But that's that's

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<v Speaker 1>our friend and producer Tristan McNeil over there. That's amazing Tristan.

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<v Speaker 1>So I know we both love robots, and I certainly

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<v Speaker 1>was a Jetsons fan. I had kept Sella as a kid. Uh,

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<v Speaker 1>lots of radio shot kits, and you know, I loved

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<v Speaker 1>building weird sort of automated inventions. But there's actually another

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<v Speaker 1>reason we're doing a show on robots today, right, that's right.

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<v Speaker 1>So one of our four her guest Simone Yatch, and

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<v Speaker 1>you probably know her for her amazing crappy robots that

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<v Speaker 1>she builds and tests on YouTube. And we are huge

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<v Speaker 1>fans of Simone and if you think about some of

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<v Speaker 1>the examples of things that she's built, she built the

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<v Speaker 1>the robot that shampoo's your hair for you just got

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<v Speaker 1>a hilarious video of this, or the alarm clock that

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<v Speaker 1>wakes you up just by slapping you in the face,

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<v Speaker 1>which was also incredibly amusing. But you know, she she

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<v Speaker 1>got some not so great news, though she um feels

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<v Speaker 1>like she's gonna be okay. So she found out that

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<v Speaker 1>she has a brain tumor, is going to undergo surgery

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<v Speaker 1>this month, and they're optimistic about the prospects for this.

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<v Speaker 1>But we still we really wanted to wish her the

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<v Speaker 1>very best of luck, so we made this little nine

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<v Speaker 1>things in her honor. That's right, So get well soon, simone.

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<v Speaker 1>So back to our love of robots for a second.

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<v Speaker 1>So people always ask me about my favorite stories and

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<v Speaker 1>facts for Mental Floss, and they're a handful I always

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<v Speaker 1>talked about. But my favorite invention has to be this

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<v Speaker 1>robotic fish that gets other fish to follow it, because

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<v Speaker 1>it sounds like a small idea, like why do you

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<v Speaker 1>care that you can create a leader among fish? And

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<v Speaker 1>the answer is so much more interesting. It's so that,

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<v Speaker 1>like if there's an oil spill or a disaster or

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<v Speaker 1>something devastating, you can actually lead schools of fish away

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<v Speaker 1>from that disaster. And I just think that's amazing. It

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<v Speaker 1>is pretty cool, and I would say it's I mean

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<v Speaker 1>it's not as important as the backpack Tomato robot, but

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<v Speaker 1>it feels like it's almost as important as the backpack

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<v Speaker 1>to make no picking on thomasons. What robot factor are

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<v Speaker 1>you gonna start with? Well, all right, well, here's one

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<v Speaker 1>that I hadn't really thought about before, and it's what

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<v Speaker 1>personality your vacuum cleaners should have? And you know, I

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<v Speaker 1>know you've probably thought about this. You come up with

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<v Speaker 1>lots of great questions that I had never thought about it,

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<v Speaker 1>and apparently a lot of scientists hadn't thought about it either.

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<v Speaker 1>So robots are mostly supposed to be functional, right, but

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<v Speaker 1>you know, we're obviously going to have preferences for one

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<v Speaker 1>robot vacuum cleaner over another if they exhibit these certain

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<v Speaker 1>behaviors with their sounds. You know, if you think about

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<v Speaker 1>the sounds they make, or the light they put out,

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<v Speaker 1>or the motions they go through, you know we will

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<v Speaker 1>have preferences among these. So kay, can you talk me

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<v Speaker 1>through a few of these. Well, let's say you programmed

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<v Speaker 1>a robot vacuum cleaner to not leave a certain area

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<v Speaker 1>until it removed a spot. So just imagine it's just

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<v Speaker 1>going over and over the same area, and these kind

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<v Speaker 1>of short jarring motions and if it does that, it

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<v Speaker 1>might come across as obsessive, you know, just going back

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<v Speaker 1>and forth over that one unimportant spot while there's this

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<v Speaker 1>whole room it needs to vacuum. So scientists at delfta

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<v Speaker 1>University in the Netherlands decided to determine what types of

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<v Speaker 1>personalities people want from their vacuum cleaners. So they rounded

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<v Speaker 1>up fifteen early adopters. These are people who were predisposed

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<v Speaker 1>to buying robot vacuum cleaners. And then things got a

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<v Speaker 1>little bit weird, so they hired a bunch of actors

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<v Speaker 1>to either crawl around or walk around pretending to be

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<v Speaker 1>vacuum cleaners with different personality traits. Now, at first I

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<v Speaker 1>thought this was just made up, but this was an

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<v Speaker 1>actual study. And the only noises they could make were

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<v Speaker 1>vacuum cleaner noise, so you think worrying and sucking sounds.

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<v Speaker 1>But they could change patterns and ways that they moved,

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<v Speaker 1>and they were actually asked to act out these thirty

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<v Speaker 1>different personality traits for vacuum cleaners. How in the world

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<v Speaker 1>they could have these thirty different possible traits, I don't know,

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<v Speaker 1>but you know, just as examples. They could be bold

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<v Speaker 1>or calm, or talkative or several other things. But it's

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<v Speaker 1>just crazy to imagine this. That's funny. It sounds like

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<v Speaker 1>a terrible improv activity. But as it does, so when

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<v Speaker 1>did the scientists actually learn from this? Well, I mean

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<v Speaker 1>most of it was honestly pretty straightforward, like you don't

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<v Speaker 1>want to chatterbox for a vacuum cleaner, and most people

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<v Speaker 1>also don't want something that feels whimsical, like it might

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<v Speaker 1>make more sense for a vacuum cleaner to move in

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<v Speaker 1>circles or you know, maybe these unpredictable patterns once it's

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<v Speaker 1>mapped out all of the dirt that's in the room,

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<v Speaker 1>but people actually want to see straight lines and routine.

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<v Speaker 1>So whether that's actually, you know, the most efficient way

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<v Speaker 1>to vacuum a room, people perceive that to be the

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<v Speaker 1>most efficient. But yeah, actually, honestly, I just like that.

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<v Speaker 1>We had to hire a bunch of Shakespearean trained actors

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<v Speaker 1>to play the role of like vacuum number three, just

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<v Speaker 1>to figure all of this out. That's horrible, But I

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<v Speaker 1>do think it's an interesting idea about how much should

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<v Speaker 1>we care for and about our robots. And I was

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<v Speaker 1>looking at something to that same effect. I found this

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<v Speaker 1>article from two thousand and thirteen that you know, these

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<v Speaker 1>soldiers who were using bomb disposal robots on battlefields were

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<v Speaker 1>actually becoming too emotionally attached to them, or at least

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<v Speaker 1>that was the concern. And the robots weren't particularly cute,

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<v Speaker 1>like they didn't have like sweet faces or anything, but

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<v Speaker 1>but the soldiers actually started treating them as mascots or pets,

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<v Speaker 1>and then when they were destroyed, they actually have funerals

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<v Speaker 1>for them. But one of the big questions for robot

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<v Speaker 1>makers at the time was just how anthropomorphic, like do

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<v Speaker 1>you design these instruments, because you know, you do want

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<v Speaker 1>soldiers to care for the equipment and maintain it properly,

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<v Speaker 1>but you don't want them to care so much and

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<v Speaker 1>be so gingerly with these things that they refused to

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<v Speaker 1>put them in harm's way. You know, with too much

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<v Speaker 1>emotional attachment, you might not send your robot into a

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<v Speaker 1>space that you think dangerous, and that's precisely what they're

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<v Speaker 1>built for. Yeah, that is pretty interesting. It's not something

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<v Speaker 1>i'd really thought about before. All Right, well, here's a

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<v Speaker 1>robot that you might have a little bit less sympathy for,

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<v Speaker 1>so you remember the carnivorous furniture we read about And

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<v Speaker 1>this was a while back, but you remember this, right, Yeah.

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<v Speaker 1>I feel like it was some European designer was something,

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<v Speaker 1>and they'd created these porch lamps that were, um, they

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<v Speaker 1>were like powered by catching and digesting insects and flies.

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<v Speaker 1>It was a little gruesome for my taste. Well, if

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<v Speaker 1>that was gruesome for you, this is definitely not going

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<v Speaker 1>to ease your anxieties. And this comes from two thousand nine.

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<v Speaker 1>There was a Wired article and they reported that the

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<v Speaker 1>Department of Defense was funding battlefield robots that could power

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<v Speaker 1>themselves by collecting organic matter. Now that organic matter included

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<v Speaker 1>human corpses, So that's just great. We're gonna have these

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<v Speaker 1>flesh powered battle bots on the fields now, I mean,

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<v Speaker 1>it's true, that's exactly what they are. And it's like

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<v Speaker 1>these scientists have never watched a sci fi horror movie.

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<v Speaker 1>And it feels pretty predictable how your war might end

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<v Speaker 1>in all of this, And and honestly, the worst part

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<v Speaker 1>is that the project is called let's see, it's called

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<v Speaker 1>energetically Autonomous Tactical Robot or EATER for short. Yeah, I'm

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<v Speaker 1>not sure how much I love that fact, I feel

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<v Speaker 1>like you're just viewing my nightmares. But speaking of human

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<v Speaker 1>robot relations, I'd like you to know that we've got

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<v Speaker 1>work to do on both sides of that equation. And

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<v Speaker 1>this comes from the story of a little robot called Hitchbot.

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<v Speaker 1>So Hitchbot was built around two thousand fifteen, and it

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<v Speaker 1>was this ultra q hitchhiking robot that's only real mission

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<v Speaker 1>was to see the world and find some good humanity.

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<v Speaker 1>I mean, that's a nice idea. I'm not sure I

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<v Speaker 1>understand exactly what that means. So how did hitch Bot work. Well,

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<v Speaker 1>it was a Canadian creation and it was solar powered. Um,

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<v Speaker 1>it had led lights, it wore a smile all the time,

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<v Speaker 1>and had these rain boots and uh, hitchpot was about

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<v Speaker 1>the size of a small child. So it was pretty

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<v Speaker 1>hard not to love this cute robot. And it was

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<v Speaker 1>also built to be light enough that you could just

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<v Speaker 1>pick it up and buckle it into your back seat.

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<v Speaker 1>The whole idea was it would take photos along the

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<v Speaker 1>way to document the trip, and it had a few

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<v Speaker 1>small benefits for the people who picked it up, like

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<v Speaker 1>it came with a cigarette lighter and adapter. So I

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<v Speaker 1>guess you could charge your phone from it or whatever.

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<v Speaker 1>But the idea was like the creators would put a

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<v Speaker 1>destination on hitchpot. So one of the destinations with like

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<v Speaker 1>San Francisco, and they tell people to pick him up

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<v Speaker 1>and then drop them off somewhere you thought someone else

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<v Speaker 1>might pick him up. Really easy directions, right, So hitchbot

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<v Speaker 1>traveled across Canada, he took a trip across Europe, and

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<v Speaker 1>then he came to the US. That sounds like a

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<v Speaker 1>setup for something. So what happened exactly? So hitchpot had

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<v Speaker 1>this great bucket list he wanted to see before you

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<v Speaker 1>got to San Francisco. You want to see like jazz

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<v Speaker 1>in New Orleans. You wanted to see the magic of

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<v Speaker 1>Disney World, various other landmarks. And he started his trip

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<v Speaker 1>well from Massachusetts. But then two weeks later he was

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<v Speaker 1>found dismembered in Philadelphia. Oh no, that's terrible. Yeah, I mean,

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<v Speaker 1>it's doubly sad. When you read his goal on his

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<v Speaker 1>home page, it reads, quote, I hope that my hitchhiking

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<v Speaker 1>trip will allow me to meet many interesting people, see

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<v Speaker 1>beautiful places, and learn more about humanity. So I mean,

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<v Speaker 1>I guess the lesson is you're not supposed to go

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<v Speaker 1>to Philly to learn about humanity, but apparently not well.

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<v Speaker 1>Speaking about robots learning, I found this great article and

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<v Speaker 1>news scientists, and it was called eight hilarious ways AI

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<v Speaker 1>has outsmarted us to get the job done. It's a

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<v Speaker 1>really fun piece because you know, we mostly only think

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<v Speaker 1>that humans and animals can come up with creative solutions,

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<v Speaker 1>and I really don't think about robots being able to

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<v Speaker 1>do that. But these evolutionary algorithms do the same thing.

0:11:43.080 --> 0:11:45.920
<v Speaker 1>And as the computers are trying to optimize tasks based

0:11:45.960 --> 0:11:48.920
<v Speaker 1>on the rules you give them, it's pretty funny because

0:11:48.960 --> 0:11:51.000
<v Speaker 1>they actually end up failing in some of the most

0:11:51.120 --> 0:11:53.760
<v Speaker 1>ridiculous ways that are that are great to read about.

0:11:54.040 --> 0:11:57.360
<v Speaker 1>So I already like this, but I'm curious about the specifics.

0:11:57.600 --> 0:11:59.000
<v Speaker 1>Can you give me a couple Well, one of the

0:11:59.040 --> 0:12:01.640
<v Speaker 1>scientists who has interview put it this way quote, if

0:12:01.679 --> 0:12:05.560
<v Speaker 1>you close one loophole, the artificial intelligence finds another. To

0:12:05.640 --> 0:12:08.920
<v Speaker 1>some extent, it feels like you're wily coyote with the roadrunner.

0:12:09.040 --> 0:12:11.800
<v Speaker 1>You set up these wildly complex systems that fail in

0:12:11.840 --> 0:12:15.320
<v Speaker 1>ways you didn't expect. So you know, for instance, he

0:12:15.320 --> 0:12:18.160
<v Speaker 1>has the computer to create a creature that jumps really high,

0:12:18.280 --> 0:12:20.800
<v Speaker 1>and the way it measured how high the jump was

0:12:20.800 --> 0:12:23.640
<v Speaker 1>was by how high the creature's foot was off the ground.

0:12:24.000 --> 0:12:26.400
<v Speaker 1>So instead of trying to train the creature to jump

0:12:26.480 --> 0:12:29.720
<v Speaker 1>this wiley AI just had this creature do a somersault

0:12:29.760 --> 0:12:31.679
<v Speaker 1>on the ground and then kick its feet up mid

0:12:31.800 --> 0:12:34.040
<v Speaker 1>role and so it's just you imagine, this is pretty

0:12:34.040 --> 0:12:36.960
<v Speaker 1>fun to see. But there was also a different simulation

0:12:37.000 --> 0:12:40.600
<v Speaker 1>where the AI was supposed to create the fastest possible creature,

0:12:41.160 --> 0:12:44.000
<v Speaker 1>but instead of designing a snake or like some aerodynamic

0:12:44.080 --> 0:12:47.040
<v Speaker 1>hawk or something like that, it basically spent all its

0:12:47.040 --> 0:12:50.800
<v Speaker 1>time building this giant creature and then all they did

0:12:51.160 --> 0:12:53.600
<v Speaker 1>was push it over because you know, the velocity the

0:12:53.720 --> 0:12:56.640
<v Speaker 1>fall was faster than anything else that it could possibly

0:12:57.400 --> 0:13:00.520
<v Speaker 1>That's really interesting. Yeah, yeah, I was trying to even

0:13:00.520 --> 0:13:02.679
<v Speaker 1>think like how they would screw that one up. But honestly,

0:13:02.720 --> 0:13:05.920
<v Speaker 1>I think my favorite way that AI failed was when

0:13:05.920 --> 0:13:09.160
<v Speaker 1>it was tasked with limiting a computer's processor usage. So

0:13:09.280 --> 0:13:13.480
<v Speaker 1>the solution the robot just turned the computer off. I

0:13:13.559 --> 0:13:17.600
<v Speaker 1>love that actually, So here's a click fact. It's in

0:13:17.640 --> 0:13:20.120
<v Speaker 1>a similar vein. I I was looking up a cutting

0:13:20.200 --> 0:13:22.320
<v Speaker 1>edge story on how far robots had come in two

0:13:22.320 --> 0:13:26.160
<v Speaker 1>thousand seven and uh scientists in NYC in Japan designed

0:13:26.160 --> 0:13:29.040
<v Speaker 1>this really cute wine bot and the idea was that

0:13:29.080 --> 0:13:31.440
<v Speaker 1>you could feed it wine, cheese, or meat, those three

0:13:31.440 --> 0:13:33.640
<v Speaker 1>things and it would identify the food for you, kind

0:13:33.640 --> 0:13:37.760
<v Speaker 1>of like a personal somalia or a metal gastronomist, that's

0:13:37.760 --> 0:13:40.160
<v Speaker 1>what they called it. And it actually do it without

0:13:40.200 --> 0:13:43.240
<v Speaker 1>tasting the food too, So you can actually put a

0:13:43.240 --> 0:13:45.560
<v Speaker 1>wine bottle in front of it and the robot could

0:13:45.559 --> 0:13:48.240
<v Speaker 1>tell if the wine was authentic and the beverage matched

0:13:48.240 --> 0:13:51.560
<v Speaker 1>the label outside the bottle. That would have been good

0:13:51.600 --> 0:13:54.800
<v Speaker 1>for our old wine frauds episode. Yeah, But you know

0:13:54.840 --> 0:13:57.880
<v Speaker 1>what's interesting is that after impressing journalists with the demonstration,

0:13:58.000 --> 0:14:00.160
<v Speaker 1>this cameraman put his hand up to the robot up

0:14:00.480 --> 0:14:03.800
<v Speaker 1>and the robot identified the human hand is bacon. So

0:14:04.000 --> 0:14:06.600
<v Speaker 1>apparently the tech fact then still had a little ways

0:14:06.640 --> 0:14:09.960
<v Speaker 1>to go. Wow, that would be unfortunate if your hand

0:14:10.000 --> 0:14:12.640
<v Speaker 1>tasted like or smelled like bacon. Rather, I think that

0:14:12.679 --> 0:14:15.200
<v Speaker 1>would just be be torture. But you know, also I'm

0:14:15.240 --> 0:14:17.920
<v Speaker 1>a little curious because cannibals have always said humans taste

0:14:17.920 --> 0:14:20.360
<v Speaker 1>like chickens, so maybe they're a little off. I know

0:14:20.960 --> 0:14:23.760
<v Speaker 1>my feeling is that, like maybe bacon So delicious and

0:14:23.840 --> 0:14:26.000
<v Speaker 1>cannibals are just trying to protect their interests and keep

0:14:26.080 --> 0:14:28.560
<v Speaker 1>hipsters away from human meat. I I don't know, But

0:14:29.200 --> 0:14:31.240
<v Speaker 1>what I do know is we've got two more robot

0:14:31.240 --> 0:14:47.200
<v Speaker 1>facts to give you right after this break. Welcome back

0:14:47.200 --> 0:14:50.240
<v Speaker 1>to Part Time Genius. We're talking robots or mango. I

0:14:50.240 --> 0:14:52.760
<v Speaker 1>don't know if you knew this. Robots as people used

0:14:52.800 --> 0:14:55.000
<v Speaker 1>to call them back in the fifties. Is that true?

0:14:55.040 --> 0:14:57.680
<v Speaker 1>That's how it was pronounced. Yeah. I was actually watching

0:14:57.680 --> 0:15:00.160
<v Speaker 1>this old documentary and it was about how scientists we're

0:15:00.240 --> 0:15:04.120
<v Speaker 1>working on robot butlers of the future, and the narrator

0:15:04.200 --> 0:15:07.200
<v Speaker 1>and even the people on the screen kept calling them robots.

0:15:07.200 --> 0:15:10.840
<v Speaker 1>For somebody, that's super weird. So I feel like we

0:15:10.840 --> 0:15:14.480
<v Speaker 1>should bring that fact. But what's your last fact about robots? Well,

0:15:14.520 --> 0:15:17.640
<v Speaker 1>I know we've talked about humans hijacking animals in the past,

0:15:17.680 --> 0:15:19.600
<v Speaker 1>and we did this story a while back on how

0:15:19.640 --> 0:15:22.480
<v Speaker 1>scientists could manipulate cockroaches, you know, to get them to

0:15:22.520 --> 0:15:24.840
<v Speaker 1>move right or left with these I guess it was

0:15:24.880 --> 0:15:28.000
<v Speaker 1>with electrical pulses and and we can actually do the

0:15:28.080 --> 0:15:31.360
<v Speaker 1>same thing with beatles as well, yeah, I've seen that

0:15:31.400 --> 0:15:33.720
<v Speaker 1>you can actually put a um tiny camera on a

0:15:33.720 --> 0:15:36.560
<v Speaker 1>beetle now, which is pretty amazing, that's right, And so

0:15:36.680 --> 0:15:38.880
<v Speaker 1>to think about how that might be used. You know,

0:15:38.920 --> 0:15:41.920
<v Speaker 1>the advantage of a swarm of beetles oversay, like you

0:15:41.920 --> 0:15:44.360
<v Speaker 1>know this army of drones is, is that the beatles

0:15:44.360 --> 0:15:47.280
<v Speaker 1>are used to flying in bad weather, so they naturally

0:15:47.320 --> 0:15:50.280
<v Speaker 1>know where to feed themselves, how to rest, and so

0:15:50.320 --> 0:15:52.280
<v Speaker 1>because of that, you don't have to worry about solar

0:15:52.320 --> 0:15:55.040
<v Speaker 1>panels not working or a battery that might run out,

0:15:55.080 --> 0:15:57.720
<v Speaker 1>and you know, they're obviously super nimble, and they're just

0:15:57.960 --> 0:16:01.480
<v Speaker 1>way more cost effective too. But the weirdest animal I've

0:16:01.480 --> 0:16:04.480
<v Speaker 1>read about humans using to their advantage are turtles, which

0:16:04.600 --> 0:16:08.320
<v Speaker 1>obviously nothing like beetles, and apparently scientists from Korea have

0:16:08.440 --> 0:16:12.280
<v Speaker 1>created these parasitic robots that live on top of turtles

0:16:12.840 --> 0:16:15.680
<v Speaker 1>and kind of like your tomato robot, it will actually

0:16:15.800 --> 0:16:18.480
<v Speaker 1>feed the turtle snacks when they move in the right direction.

0:16:19.160 --> 0:16:21.680
<v Speaker 1>So I totally get insects. It's creepy that you can

0:16:21.680 --> 0:16:24.360
<v Speaker 1>turn them into cyborgs and control them, but you know,

0:16:24.520 --> 0:16:26.960
<v Speaker 1>they can get anywhere. It makes sense. They can like

0:16:27.000 --> 0:16:29.720
<v Speaker 1>fly and crawl wherever. But why do you want to

0:16:29.760 --> 0:16:33.040
<v Speaker 1>control a turtle? Well, I mean the whole ideas that

0:16:33.080 --> 0:16:35.840
<v Speaker 1>there are going to be disasters that happen from time

0:16:35.880 --> 0:16:39.920
<v Speaker 1>to time. So but this like floods or spills or earthquakes,

0:16:39.960 --> 0:16:42.560
<v Speaker 1>and we just can't get to these spots very fast.

0:16:42.600 --> 0:16:45.560
<v Speaker 1>But if you hijack a turtle population in the area,

0:16:45.720 --> 0:16:48.840
<v Speaker 1>or any animal really, and then you survey the land

0:16:48.880 --> 0:16:52.479
<v Speaker 1>by using them as your rover, it actually becomes really beneficial.

0:16:52.920 --> 0:16:55.640
<v Speaker 1>And unlike the bugs, which you have to outfit with cameras,

0:16:55.880 --> 0:16:58.720
<v Speaker 1>if you're just dropping these parasite robots on land and

0:16:58.760 --> 0:17:00.960
<v Speaker 1>they each find a turtle, right, it ends up being

0:17:01.040 --> 0:17:04.600
<v Speaker 1>much more efficient. That's pretty crazy, Okay, So here's my

0:17:04.680 --> 0:17:07.760
<v Speaker 1>last robot fact. In two thousand eight, a post STOC

0:17:07.840 --> 0:17:11.000
<v Speaker 1>fellow at Hakkaido University wanted to figure out if robot

0:17:11.040 --> 0:17:13.960
<v Speaker 1>comedians can make people laugh. So he had people read

0:17:14.000 --> 0:17:16.720
<v Speaker 1>a bunch of text message jokes and then he had

0:17:16.880 --> 0:17:20.879
<v Speaker 1>robots deliver those same jokes. So what happened? Where the

0:17:21.000 --> 0:17:23.720
<v Speaker 1>where the robots actually funny? Yeah, I mean they were

0:17:23.800 --> 0:17:27.080
<v Speaker 1>marginally funnier. On a scale of one to five. The

0:17:27.080 --> 0:17:29.720
<v Speaker 1>text jokes scored a two point three, while the average

0:17:29.800 --> 0:17:32.720
<v Speaker 1>robot comedian landed a two point eight. Oh that's not bad.

0:17:32.760 --> 0:17:35.840
<v Speaker 1>I mean that's half a point more. It's pretty good. Actually, yeah,

0:17:35.960 --> 0:17:38.359
<v Speaker 1>But then he evolved the robots to make them even

0:17:38.480 --> 0:17:43.520
<v Speaker 1>funnier by adding fart noises. Of course, the combination of

0:17:43.640 --> 0:17:47.960
<v Speaker 1>robots making jokes and fart noises drove the numbers even higher,

0:17:47.960 --> 0:17:50.760
<v Speaker 1>and the moral was pretty easy to figure out, like,

0:17:50.880 --> 0:17:54.320
<v Speaker 1>robot comedians can be funny, but gassy robot comedians are

0:17:54.440 --> 0:17:59.360
<v Speaker 1>even funnier. That's some pretty good science, you know. I

0:17:59.400 --> 0:18:01.840
<v Speaker 1>feel like we had some good facts here, but I

0:18:01.840 --> 0:18:04.159
<v Speaker 1>feel like what you just closed with with some pretty

0:18:04.320 --> 0:18:07.480
<v Speaker 1>solid science and the fact that even robots can figure

0:18:07.480 --> 0:18:09.880
<v Speaker 1>out that fart noises are funny, I feel like I'm

0:18:09.880 --> 0:18:12.000
<v Speaker 1>gonna have to give you the trophy today, Mango. Thank

0:18:12.040 --> 0:18:14.399
<v Speaker 1>you so much, well, and thank you guys for listening.

0:18:14.440 --> 0:18:16.440
<v Speaker 1>We'll be back with a full length episode tomorrow