For some reason, robots come in and out of popular culture. Within a block of my office, there are 2 great displays of creative robots from different ends of the spectrum.
Across the street in the Paul Smith windows are the high version (of course). They are made by Bennett Robot Works (www.bennettrobotworks.com) out of old scraps of industrial design history. They are incredible combinations of oddball parts with a wit and sensibility that shows this guy knows his equipment, and he knows his robots (if only I could get my 90 year old tinkerer dad with all this junk in his basement busy).
Around the corner at Beads of Paradise are handmade robots from Thailand. Made from scraps of wood and bright colors, they are fun and childlike. Although these would be the “low” ones (under $100 versus $1500 and up for the Bennett ones), who wouldn’t want five of them to greet you when you come home?
