Roboceptionist

So, today's CMU special is... Tank the Roboceptionist! Went to lunch today with Jan, Ben and Adam and we left the building by a different route to the one I've been using. Dropping below the ground level (which is at floor 5) to the fourth floor we went out through Newell-Simon Hall which contains, amongst other things, the Robotics Institute. As we left the Newell-Simon we passed Tank - a robotic receptionist. Too cool to stop as we walked by to get lunch I wandered back out that way later on when I went to the Office of International Education's Open House afternoon. Here are a couple of photos of Tank at work:



Interestingly, as I explored a bit more closely I spotted a computer screen inside Tank's booth that was displaying user interface content I wouldn't have expected to see. I didn't get a photo of that but I did take this one of what I saw next...


OK, so the girl probably doesn't hide there all the time but it did make me laugh. A robotic receptionist connected to a Windows PC connected to a human student :) Sadly the photo of the hiding girl really isn't that good - my flash went off unexpectedly which made it difficult to catch her unawares a second time.