Most robots are functional. Only a few are edible, even nutritious.
Mickey McManus took five seedless cucumbers, carved them so they looked like fingers and anchored them to a hunk of Edam cheese. To this 'hand,' he attached a small electronic device, programmed to respond to sound; when someone laughed or clapped, the fingers flexed. He brought his cucumber robot to a wine-and-cheese party as an appetizer, along with a robotic Rice Krispies Treats man that pivoted whenever the lights dimmed.
Mr. McManus is neither chef nor computer scientist. He's a Pittsburgh executive who, along with about 500 other locals, recently became an amateur robot designer. They were taught by professors at Carnegie Mellon University's Robotics Institute, which last year launched a citywide outreach program to bring robots to the masses.
While scientists and engineers have built robots to search for life on Mars and clean out toxic-waste dumps, many of the civilian creators looked to the robots to solve problems in their own backyards. There was a robot that took photos of speeding cars, and another that waved its arms when the street noise got too loud. A robotic sheep mowed lawns, and robotic flags raised and lowered automatically.
'I wanted to try a robot waiter made of bread,' says Mr. McManus, CEO of Maya Design, a local design and research firm. The bread turned out to be too soft to work with, but the cucumbers were perfect. A local art gallery held a reception for the designers' creations and Mr. McManus's edible robots made an appearance -- and a disappearance.
The yearlong program, called Robot 250, coincides with the city's 250th birthday. Teachers fanned out to 13 neighborhoods, providing materials, instruction and troubleshooting. 'We wanted to put technology into the hands of as many people as possible,' says Illah Nourbakhsh, an associate professor at Carnegie Mellon University's Robotics Institute, who came up with the idea.
Often working in teams, participants built about 75 robots, ranging from small paper flowers whose buds opened and closed, to a working wooden roller coaster. Most of the robots reacted to simple inputs, like noise, light or movement.
Carole and Albert Borek were initially apprehensive. 'We're not arty. We're just old people,' says Ms. Borek, 64 years old.
But after seeing how easy it was to use a basic sensor, the Boreks decided to build a robot to monitor noise on their street, which they considered excessive. They called their creation Boombox Barney. It had a mannequin head and two fabric arms. When noise reached a certain level, Barney covered his ears, indicating that it was too loud and signaling people to pipe down.
The project came together smoothly for the most part, although the Boreks did something wrong at first, causing Barney's arms to go down instead of up when exposed to loud noise. Once that was fixed, Barney worked perfectly. The only problem was that people clapped and yelled at him just to see him cover his ears. 'It didn't keep people quiet,' says Ms. Borek.
Christina Papp, a graphic designer, built a robot that took photos of speeding cars in front of her house. She'd like to work on improving the image quality and eventually email photos of offenders to the mayor's office. Golan Levin, an artist, designed a large, elephantlike snout, dubbed Double-Taker, that turns and looks at passing pedestrians.
People in Pittsburgh have been building robots for decades. Seventy years ago, an engineer at Westinghouse Electric created Elektro the Moto-Man, who could walk and smoke cigarettes and had a 77-word vocabulary. His sidekick, Sparko the Moto-Dog, wagged his tail, sat and barked on command.
Today, there are more than 30 robotic companies in Pittsburgh. They make drowsy-driver warning systems, and robots that help with surgery, unload crates and search for life on distant planets. Alcoa Inc. has a 6-foot-tall robot spokesperson, Al, who hosted a recent Robot Block Party at the Carnegie Science Center.
Part of the Robot 250 event, the block party was billed as the city's largest and most diverse public gathering of robots. A solar-powered robot mingled with hazmat robots that search for explosives. Robots built by teenagers were on display. Red Rover, a four-wheeled robot that has become a local celebrity in robot circles, made an appearance. Red Rover and his creators are vying for the Google Lunar X Prize, a $30 million competition for the first privately funded team to send a robot to the moon and transmit video, images and data back to Earth.
Several other robots weren't able to attend. Moe, a six-legged Styrofoam sheep was busy roaming and trimming the grounds at the city's conservatory several miles away. Moe has a grass shearer in his mouth and ultrasonic range finders to keep him from crashing into things. An invisible fence keeps Moe from wandering too far, although he did get out once and trample the flowers when the fence became unplugged.
Moe is equipped with proximity sensors to avoid running into objects such as small children, as well as an MP3 player that features bleats and a recording of Thomas Edison reciting 'Mary Had a Little Lamb.'
'This is not just a fancy lawn ornament,' says Moe's creator, Osman Khan, a visiting assistant professor of art at Carnegie Mellon. Mr. Khan, along with several other local artists, was invited as part of Robot 250 to use robots to create a piece of installation art.
Mr. Khan thought an electric sheep would be whimsical, but also practical: It would arguably be better for the environment than a gas-powered mower. He hooked up with Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens, which has a big yard and was delighted to have Moe, although he actually doesn't cut much grass. Unable to walk and cut at the same time, the robotic sheep goes into mow mode only when stopped. The conservatory uses its own mower to keep the grass in Moe's area clipped short so he doesn't trip.
Although Mr. McManus's edible robots have already been eaten, he created a how-to guide and video, which is helpful, since much trial and error involving other foods preceded the finished products.
Mr. McManus drilled holes in granola bars and shattered pirouette cookies before deciding both were too delicate. He found that apples had strong skin but not enough mass. Banana interiors were too soft. Licorice, which initially seemed promising, became brittle. String cheese, while pliable, lacked structural integrity.
After several frustrating efforts, he consulted Maya's chief technologist, Jeff Senn, who suggested vegetables, which are naturally flexible.
Cucumbers worked perfectly. 'We attribute the success of cucumber-based robotics to the strong exosurface and self-lubricating properties of the garden variety seedless cucumber,' the video explains. A mixture of Rice Krispies and melted marshmallows also worked, although Mr. McManus suggests periodic doses of Pam spray to counter stickiness.
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大多数机器人都会干活儿，但只有少数可以食用，甚至还具备营养价值。
米基·麦克马纳斯(Mickey McManus)将五根无籽黄瓜切成手指的形状，然后用一大块高达(Edam)干酪把它们固定住。他为这只“黄瓜手”拴上了一个能够对声音做出反应的小型电子器件；当有人发出笑声或者拍手时，这些手指会做出伸缩的动作。麦克马纳斯将这个“黄瓜手”带到了一场葡萄酒和奶酪派对上充当开胃菜，他还带来了一个能够在灯光变暗时转动身体的爆米香(Rice Krispies Treats)机器人。
麦克马纳斯既非厨师，也不是电脑科学家。他是美国匹兹堡市的一名企业管理者。最近，麦克马纳斯和当地大约500人一起成为了业余机器人设计师。他们的老师是卡耐基-梅隆大学(Carnegie Mellon University)机器人研究所的教授们。去年，该研究所在匹兹堡市发起了一项普及机器人知识的活动。
虽然科学家和工程师建造机器人的目的是探索火星生命和清理有毒废物垃圾，不过，许多普通人却希望利用机器人解决日常生活中的小问题：比如，他们制造出一个能给超速车辆拍照的机器人，还有个机器人会在街道噪音过大时挥舞手臂。此外还有会修剪草坪的“机器羊”和能够自动升降的机器人旗帜。
在当地设计研究公司Maya Design担任首席执行长的麦克马纳斯说，“我本想制造一个用面包做成的机器人服务生。”结果他发现面包过于柔软难以用作材料，不过黄瓜却是理想之选。当地一家画廊为这些设计者的作品举办了一场招待会，麦克马纳斯的可食用“黄瓜手”登场亮相──而后被一扫而光。
这项为期一年的活动被命名为“机器人250”，而今年也恰逢匹兹堡建城250周年。学院的老师们走进了13个社区，向居民们分发材料&#12289;进行讲解并解决设计制作过程中出现的问题。首先提出这一想法的卡耐基-梅隆大学机器人研究所副教授伊拉·诺巴克什(Illah Nourbakhsh)说，“我们希望能够让尽可能多的人了解这项技术。”
参与者们分成小组，共造出约75个自动装置，从花苞一开一合的小纸花到木质过山车，不一而足。大多数自动装置都由声响&#12289;灯光或者运动这些简单的信号驱动。
最初，卡罗尔(Carole)和艾伯特·博雷克(Albert Borek)夫妇顾虑重重。64岁的卡罗尔说，“我们笨手笨脚，只不过是两个老家伙。”
不过在看到使用基本传感器非常简单之后，博雷克夫妇决定制造一个能够监控街道噪音的机器人，因为他们家的那条街太吵了。两人将他们的作品命名为“Boombox巴尼”(Barney)。巴尼有个橱窗模特的脑袋和两只布料缝制的手臂。每当噪音达到一定分贝，巴尼就会捂住耳朵，表示声音太大，示意人们安静下来。
整个制作过程大体来说非常顺利，只是博雷克夫妇刚开始的时候出了点儿小差错，结果当噪音过大时，巴尼的手臂不是上举而是下垂。不过解决了这个问题之后，巴尼的一举一动就无可挑剔了。唯一的问题是，人们为了看到他捂住耳朵的样子不断拍手叫喊。“巴尼并没有让人们静下来，” 卡罗尔说。
从事平面设计的克里斯蒂娜·帕普(Christina Papp)在自家房前树起了一个能够为超速车辆拍照的机器人装置。她还希望继续提高图像质量，最终她将会把拍下的照片通过电子邮件发往市长办公室。而艺术家戈兰·莱文(Golan Levin)则设计出一个巨大的&#12289;类似象鼻子的玩意儿，并命名为“Double-Taker”，它的“眼睛”会追随过往行人的身影并扭动“身躯”。
匹兹堡人制造机器人的历史已经有几十年了。70年前，西屋电气(Westinghouse Electric)的一名工程师创造出了能够行走&#12289;抽烟，还会说77个字的机器人Elektro。他的跟班──机器狗Sparko摇着尾巴，能够按照指令蹲下或者发出叫声。
如今，匹兹堡拥有30多家机器人公司。他们的产品包括防止驾驶员疲劳驾驶的警告系统，还有辅助外科手术&#12289;帮助卸载货物以及寻找太空生命的机器人。美国铝业公司(Alcoa Inc.)身高6英尺的机器人发言人Al最近在卡耐基科学中心(Carnegie Science Center)主持了一场机器人街区派对(Robot Block Party).
作为“机器人250”活动的一部分，这个派对据称是匹兹堡规模最大，也是种类最多样的机器人大集会。一个由太阳能驱动的机器人和搜索爆炸物的探测机器人们聚首一堂。由青少年制造的机器人也在展出之列。在圈子里颇受追捧的四轮机器人红色漫游车(Red Rover)也到场亮相。红色漫游车和他的设计者们参加了谷歌(Google) Lunar X Prize探月竞赛。比赛的获胜队伍将获得3,000万美元奖金，成为首支由民间出资赞助的探月团队──获胜者将把机器人送上月球并将视频&#12289;图像和各种数据传回地球。
还有其他一些机器人没能参加派对。比如，六条腿的泡沫塑料山羊莫伊(Moe)正忙着在几英里以外的温室里漫步和剪草。莫伊的嘴巴里安装有割草机，身上还装有防止碰撞物体的超声波测距仪。一道无形的“电子篱笆”保证莫伊不会跑得太远，不过它确实跑出去过，还践踏了花草，原因是“篱笆”的电源断开了。
莫伊还配备有距离探测器，以防止它撞上各种物体，比如小孩。另外，这只“机器羊”身上还安装了MP3播放器，因此能发出咩咩的叫声，还能播放托马斯·爱迪生(Thomas Edison)朗诵的《玛丽有只小羊羔》(Mary Had a Little Lamb)的录音。
“莫伊不仅仅是个新奇的草坪装饰品，” 莫伊的制造者&#12289;卡耐基-梅隆大学艺术系客座副教授奥斯曼·卡恩(Osman Khan)说。卡恩和其他一些当地艺术家都被邀请来利用机器人创造出一件装置艺术品，这也是“机器人250”活动的一部分。
卡恩认为机器羊的主意虽然有些奇怪，但很实用：因为它可能比汽油驱动的割草机更有益于环境保护。他与拥有一个大庭院的匹兹堡温室和植物园(Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens)取得了联系，他们很高兴地接受了莫伊──尽管它实际上割不下多少草。由于无法一边行走一边割草，莫伊只有在停下来的时候才会进入割草模式。温室花园要求自己的割草工人保证将莫伊活动区域内的草坪都剪得很短，以防止莫伊摔倒。
尽管麦克马纳斯的可食用机器人已经进了人们的肚子，不过他编写了入门指导和视频讲解，这很有帮助，因为在取得成功之前，他还测试了很多其他的食物。
麦克马纳斯曾在格兰诺拉燕麦条(granola bar)上钻孔，还尝试过使用“Pirouette”饼干，后来他得出结论：这两种材料都太容易碎。他还发现苹果表皮结实，但厚度不够。而香蕉的果肉又过于柔软。最初看来似乎很有希望的甘草用起来太脆。奶酪条尽管柔韧性好，但容易变形。
在几次受挫之后，他请教了Maya的首席技术顾问杰夫·森(Jeff Senn)。森建议麦克马纳斯试试有韧性的蔬菜。
黄瓜的效果十分理想。麦克马纳斯在视频里解释说，“我们将黄瓜机器人技术的成功归因于普通无籽黄瓜坚实的表皮和自润滑的特性。”爆米香和棉花糖的混合物也取得了成功，不过，麦克马纳斯建议要不时喷上棕榈油以防止粘连。
