NextFest 2008: Mower the Robotic Lawnmowing Sheep
In the off-chance that the dozens of signs posted all around Millennium park proclaiming the arrival of NextFest didn’t quite give away the presence of NextFest to Chicagoans, perhaps the giant robot sheep hedging the lawn did.
Flanked by signs proclaiming “Sheep at Work, Please Do Not Disturb,” Mower was designed by Carnegie Mellon University’s Osman Khan, as a reference to the Philip K. Dick book Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep (later the basis for the Ridley Scott Film, Bladerunner).
This Styrofoam sheep can mow large lawns, with the help of a remote control. Of course this cartoony bot isn’t the most efficient yard work device on the market, but it comes with the added bonus of talking, bleeting, and singing “Mary Had a Little Lamb.”
Check out a video of Mower, after the jump.
Original post by Brian Heater