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Robotics Software Hardware Idle

RoboBonobo: A Project To Outfit Apes With Tablets and Telepresence Bots 68

Posted by samzenpus from the planet-of-the-metal-apes dept.
MrSeb writes "Ken Schweller, a computer scientist and psychologist, and also the chairman of the Great Ape Trust in Des Moines, Iowa, has a vision: He wants to put wireless Android tablets in the hands of bonobo apes. The Great Ape Trust Sanctuary is home to seven bonobos, including the world-famous Kanzi, and two orangutans. So far the Sanctuary has focused almost exclusively on language, with the bonobos and their keepers communicating through lexigrams on a touch-screen TV. Now Schweller wants to go one step further and outfit the bonobos with wireless tablets running custom Bonobo Chat software, allowing the apes to communicate with their keepers (and other bonobos!) from anywhere in the Sanctuary, and to remotely control devices such as vending machines, doors, and the RoboBonobo. If all this wasn't weird (cool?) enough, the RoboBonobo is even outfitted with a water cannon (so the telepresent apes can play "chase games" with humans) and Schweller is trying to fund the whole thing with Kickstarter. If you're a big fan of apes (or Darwinism), be sure to donate."
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RoboBonobo: A Project To Outfit Apes With Tablets and Telepresence Bots More

RoboBonobo: A Project To Outfit Apes With Tablets and Telepresence Bots

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  • Planet of the Apes coming soon (Score:4, Funny)

    by kawabago ( 551139 ) on Friday March 30, 2012 @03:47AM (#39519997)
    They'll have the telepresence robot hacked into a human hunting drone in no time.

  • iPad (Score:2, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward

    Apple already tried this in USA. Even got the monosyllabic monkeys to pay for their own hardware.

  • Rise of the... (Score:4, Funny)

    by spxZA ( 996757 ) on Friday March 30, 2012 @04:41AM (#39520239)
    Planet of the Bonobos. If they have wireless tabs, then one clever one will find a way to take control of a Predator. What then humans? It's going to be World War 3, between Bonobos and Robot Overlords with us stuck in the middle trying to stick flowers into their barrels. Wang Weilin will be squished.

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by spxZA ( 996757 )
      ...or maybe the internets has corrupted my ability to distinguish between reality and fantasy.

    • Re:Rise of the... (Score:5, Informative)

      by TapeCutter ( 624760 ) on Friday March 30, 2012 @05:30AM (#39520441) Journal

      Planet of the Bonobos.

      A female dominated polygamous society that spends most of the day eating fresh fruit and screwing? Count me in!

      However there's a flaw in your vision of paradise, bonobo's are the hippies of the ape world, they have a complex society that allows them to spend their days eating fresh fruit and fucking. They are not known to kill others of their species, territorial disputes, mating rights, etc, are settled via bonobo politics and diplomacy. So of the 3 species in your vision, I think they are the species most likely to be picking daisies.

      Now if a regular chimp got hold of a predator they wouldn't hesitate to shoot you in the face and rip your genitals off.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by Fned ( 43219 )

        So of the 3 species in your vision, I think they are the species most likely to be picking daisies.

        It's a false front to get us to trust them with our killer robots. Don't be fooled! They're complete bastards when humans aren't watching.

    • Planet of the Bonobos. If they have wireless tabs, then one clever one will find a way to take control of a Predator. What then humans? It's going to be World War 3, between Bonobos and Robot Overlords with us stuck in the middle trying to stick flowers into their barrels. Wang Weilin will be squished.

      I'm more worried about all the spam they'll start sending.

      For their Penis Fencing Festivals and that kind of stuff.

  • MojoJojo! (Score:1)

    by Anonymous Coward

    Isn't this how it started?

  • Advances in science! (Score:5, Funny)

    by RenHoek ( 101570 ) on Friday March 30, 2012 @04:56AM (#39520305) Homepage

    Knowing Bonobos, this project will also have to involve some kind of teledildonics, right?

    I'm all for this project.. you know.. for science!

  • If you're a big fan of apes (or Darwinism), be sure to donate.

    How do the apes feel about this?

  • The Robo-Bonobo-Hobo!!!! with his Android sidekick and his ability to tell killer jokes with sign language!!!

  • When I saw that "telepresence" thing, I got flashbacks to that part in "Faces of Death" where they ate the monkey brains... do no want.

  • It's already this way all over the world (Score:3)

    by aglider ( 2435074 ) on Friday March 30, 2012 @06:25AM (#39520641) Homepage

    with Apple iPads. Android is just a runner up.
    Tablets to apes.

  • So now as the real life version of Planet of the Apes unfolds, Caesar will not only be smart and pissed, he'll look like Jimmy Durante and be hornier than Warren Beatty?

  • And so the Uplift begins. (Score:5, Funny)

    by UncleRage ( 515550 ) on Friday March 30, 2012 @06:41AM (#39520715)

    David Brin must be openly grinning over this.

  • Bonobos? I hope they didn't forget to set the pr0n filter, or available bandwidth will never be enough....

    And keep them from posting on youtube!!!!

  • ...I suppose this is following Apple's similar success with the iPad and lemmings?

    -Chris

  • Weird (Score:5, Funny)

    by Lord Grey ( 463613 ) on Friday March 30, 2012 @07:41AM (#39520961)

    If you replace 'the bonobos' with 'management' and make other, similar simple changes to the summary, you'd get a fairly accurate description of the office where I work.

    "Ken Schweller, a computer scientist and psychologist, and also the chairman of the Business Trust in Des Moines, Iowa, has a vision: He wants to put wireless Android tablets in the hands of management. The Business Trust Sanctuary is home to seven managers, including the world-famous Kanzi, and two MBAs. So far the Sanctuary has focused almost exclusively on language, with management and the Board of Directors communicating through lexigrams on a touch-screen TV. Now Schweller wants to go one step further and outfit management with wireless tablets running custom Management Chat software, allowing the managers to communicate with their keepers (and other managers!) from anywhere in the Sanctuary, and to remotely control devices such as vending machines, doors, and the RoboManager. If all this wasn't weird (cool?) enough, the RoboManager is even outfitted with a water cannon (so the telepresent managers can play "chase games" with the staff) and Schweller is trying to fund the whole thing with Kickstarter. If you're a big fan of managers (or Darwinism), be sure to donate."

    It's uncanny, I tell you. I wonder if those security cameras are something other than what they seem?

  • Is this just another evil wireless plot to dumb down communications from more species of primates? Texting doesn't even work well for humans.

  • I'm sure the apes are not DAUs, this category is still occupied by humans...

  • Digital monkeys flinging digital poo at us.

    Oh well. It would still be better than Trade Chat in World of Warcraft.

  • They use the idea of giving monkeys smartphones to drum up funding for their research, and then when the smartphones don't actually help anything they take them from the monkeys to use themselves.

  • Look up bonobos. Porn on the internet is about to double.
  • ~ (bong bong) Ook Eeek Ook AH AH!

    ~ (bing bing) Get.your.stinking.paws.off.me.you.damned.dirty.ape. OK?

    .

  • Once a new species gets started using Android, it's really hard to switch them over to Windows. This doesn't bode well for MS's survival over the next million years or so.

  • I'm technically a great ape. Can I have a tablet and telepresence bot, please?

  • Ah. Yep, it'll be on the net. Wait till those crafty apes figure out ALL the places on a human body that the water cannon might fit.

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