For Simpler Robots, a Step Forward

by Anne Eisenberg New York Times, 24 Feb 2005 The moment of truth had come for the knee-high robot standing on its improvised runway at a hotel news conference. Reporters circled it, their microphones and cameras trained on the machine as it tried to start up. Then a curious 13-year-old boy who had joined the throng reached out, poked his fingers between the robot's metal legs and gave them an exploratory push. With that, the robot, built at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, lived up to its nickname, the Toddler. It rocked gently until the poking stopped, steadied itself and marched firmly across the level surface, a tabletop propped up on cinderblocks. Read the article