Shitty robots remind us that we’re human. Sure, the advanced robots at the DARPA Robotics Challenge may demonstrate how brilliant we can be as a species, but their high-tech anodyne design somehow makes them seem like alien objects removed from the world of people. (That is, until they totally blow it.)
Truly shitty bots, on the other hand—shambling golems made out of kleenex boxes, tape, and sex toys—let you readily perceive the human imperfection that went into their construction. Also, they’re hilarious to watch.
Videos by VICE
So, in the spirit of human messiness and hilarity (basically, Friday night), here’s some incredibly crappy robots duking it out, courtesy of Japan’s greatest competition for technically challenged roboticists, Hebocon.
Daiju Ishikawa, Hebocon’s founder, initially meant for the competition to be a one-off back in July of last year, but its restrictions on technical expertise and tagline-cum-spiritual mantra “Crappiness trumps strategy,” have made the contest’s transcendent shittiness a global phenomenon. According to The Japan Times, Hebocon events have been held in more than 20 countries since then.
Hebocon’s main philosophical suggestion, that humanity in robotics isn’t found in mechanical perfection, but in total breakdowns and system failures, appears to be a popular one.
“A well-made robot doesn’t really express the nature of the person who made it,” Hebocon founder Daiju Ishikawa says in the above video, filmed by The Japan Times during Tokyo Design Week, which wrapped up on Tuesday.
“If you look at a badly-made robot, where the maker has had to give up or compromise on bits of it, you get a glimpse of the maker’s personality.”
GIF from YouTube
