February 7th is National Love Your Robot Day.
Originally established 16 years ago by musician Victor Lams as a joke with a friend (and inspired by the original Star Wars trilogy and The Black Hole), today Love Your Robot Day still continues … even recognized by public school systems and the New York Public Library.
So to celebrate, we robotictips.com editors pay homage to our favorite fictional robots and some of the real iterations they’ve inspired.
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Smart and sassy R2-D2
On most everyone’s list for National Love Your Robot Day is this little guy. R2-D2 of Star Wars fame is a lovable droid — most notably for his sassy and independent attitude. The robot also helps save the galaxy time and time again — most notably when rescuing human friends Leia, Luke, and Han from Jabba the Hutt. R2-D2 is badly damaged during a fight between Imperial troops and Rebels, but repairs set him straight to celebrate the end of the Empire with the second Death Star’s destruction.
Special equipment: Saw, periscope, electric pike, fusion welder, data and life-form probes, power recharge coupler, booster rockets, holoprojector and all-terrain treads.
Inspiration: It’s said that the design of R2-D2 drew from Huey, Dewey, and Louie of Silent Running fame.
Related working designs: One of R2-D2’s abilities is to act as an X-wing copilot. Well in 2014, South Korean researchers led by Shim Hyung-Chul unveiled a Bioloid Premium PIBOT that uses machine vision to track GPS location, airspeed and more to reliably fly a plane. PIBOT has since demonstrated its skills on flight simulators and real planes.
NEXT: The legacy continues with …
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