Boxie is a semi-autonomous robot with a cardboard body that roams through its surroundings until it finds a willing human participant to answer its questions and star in a movie it films. It was designed and built by Alexander Reben at MIT’s Media Lab.
Boxie is a simple and cute looking critter, reminiscent of a tweenbot, but it has a litany of on-board sensors and gadgets that helps in its interaction. It uses treads to get around, a PIR and IR sensor to navigate obstacles, an accelerometer to track whether it’s being moved, and a camera to document its adventures.
Buttons on the side of the head provide interface for its interactions with humans which, as you can see in the video, involve an interview and a dance party, and the whole system is controlled by an Arduino Mega.
[via Hacked Gadgets]
