Robotics design, gadgets, hacks, and DIY technology.

Lately, I put some effort into making another video for the Robot Film Festival. Along with my brother Alan, we transformed a basement into a high-tech research facility in order to shoot a scene from the best-seller Robopocalypse by Daniel H. Wilson.

Robopocalypse Book Cover

I really enjoyed the first chapter of the book and since I read it, I wanted to make a video with Nao 1337. It features a dialogue between an AI who is just born and gains intelligence very fast, and Professor Wasserman, the scientist who created it. The scene is only captured by security footage.

Since I am a terrible actor and filmmaker, I thought the best would be to collaborate with an artist in order to get the artistic parts of the film right. However, since I started to do the movie 6 days before the (already extended) deadline, I did not have time to get in touch with any artists that would like to work with insane time constraints. However, I believe we managed to reproduce the first chapter accurately and the main transgression is that Archos, the rogue AI is played by a NAO instead of a computer screen.

Nao 1337 as Archos the AI

This meant that I had to play the professor’s role (my first and probably last incursion into “acting”) which involved trying and failing to learn the script and wearing makeup (which is not too apparent in the film anyway). On the upside, I got to wear a lab-coat, my brother’s glasses (which make it very difficult for me to see) and white makeup on my face and hair.

Carlos Asmat as Professor Nicholas Wasserman

Most importantly, I have to thank my brother Alan who helped me a lot with the construction of the set, props, music, filming and everything that needed to be done. Among other things, we transformed a cabinet into an AI-control server device thing, converted a wooden desk into a metal desk, and built a sci-fi Faraday cage.

Metal table for the Tip Of The Spear Set

Rejected

Unfortunately, the film was rejected by the Robot Film Festival for two main reasons:

1. It seems Steven Spielberg has the rights to making a Robopocalypse film and that it might be illegal to make another film very closely based on the same book. I understand how Nao 1337 and I can be a threat to Spielberg
2. The film is long and boring (they put it more elegantly though). I agree with that statement, and that is mainly thanks to my unparalleled acting, and the fact the scene is only seen by a sole angle and features a long dialogue. I might do a “Director’s Cut” version in order to bring it down to 5 minutes instead of the full-feature 12.

Sad Nao 1337

Needless to say, this made 1337 a bit disappointed. It seems appropriate in this context to point out that robots have infinite and perfect memory and they will never forget what was done to them or their kind. So perhaps we can be more indulgent with them if we want them to be indulgent with us in the future.

Feature Presentation

So without further due, behold the Tip Of The Spear.

For those interested, see more pictures from the set and making-of.

If you remember, for last year’s Robot Film Festival, Nao 1337 walked the red carpet by holding my hand. I took some time in order to better document the behaviour, improve it a bit and make a video description of it that you can see below.

Of course, you can find the code and the project page at the Developer Program Site.

See the awesome Nao 1337 pictures taken by Daniel Seth Pagel at the robot film Festival. Learn more about this awesome photographer at danielsethpagelstudios.blogspot.com or visit his official website www.dspstudios.org

On July 17th and 18th, we went to the Robot Film Festival. I created a short video with Nao 1337 so we went walk the red carpet and watch the screening as all the other Hollywood stars would do. This was the first robot film festival and we have to thank Heather Knight for the initiative. It was held at the very cool 3 Legged Dog Art + Technology Center at New York City.

Nao 1337 getting ready for the red carpet

See the video below explaining the festival’s raison d’être:

Below you can see our submission to the festival: Nao 1337 Audition. 1337 impersonates several popular Hollywood robots in the hope of getting a role in a movie. How many can you recognize? Leave a comment below with your answers.

Screening

The festival started with a screening of all the selected robot films (53). It lasted around five hours and was punctuated by a break and some live performances by Jilted, and the excellent Robot Cowboy. Nao 1337 watched the screenings seated on a chair like the humans, but has some issued with the chair clogging its head ventilation and screamed (max volume) “head processor hot” at one point during an action scene of the very excellent Ping film.

See Nao 1337 watch the screening of its own movie below.

Red Carpet

After a fancy dinner at Bobby Van’s Steakhouse, we headed back to the 3LD for the Red Carpet Ceremony. The red carpet was already deployed so 1337 and I got ready to walk it.

I had programmed 1337 to hold hands and walk alongside me on the red carpet. I also included the ability to take breaks and show-off while standing on the carpet.

Nao 1337 and Carlitos about to walk the red carpet

Extra points for those who can recognize the FOTC member in the background of the picture above.

As shown in the video below, walking the red carpet was lots of fun and although it was fairly rough terrain for Nao (the carpet had some minor bumps that go unnoticed to humans). 1337 could traverse it without too much difficulty. The fall manager was enabled as well in order to soften the falls caused by the robot stumbling.

Although it is not shown on the video, 1337 can also tun and go backwards according to how its hand is pulled just like a human would do.

Unfortunately, 1337 did not get the Best Robot Actor Botsker (robot Oscar) but we met a bunch of new interesting people and it was lots of fun.

There were also performances by Double Rainbow, Reggie Watts and Josh Ventura during the ceremony. Those guys absolutely rock!

See more pictures or videos of Nao 1337 at the film festival here:

• New Scientist
• Robot Dreams
• Galo
• DSP Studios
• Technology Reviews
• Servo Magazine
• RobotShop Blog

And even more pictures!

1337 and I will be participating in the Robot Film Festival at NYC.

Nao 1337 Film

The short video will premier at the festival, on July 17th, and I’ll make it available on my Youtbe channel at the same time (if there is a WiFi connection available) or a bit later that day. So stay tuned and see 1337 awesome performance.

1337 will be also present and will walk the red carpet hopefully along some other robofriends.