Don-8r robot set to make the homeless obsolete (video)

I know this looks silly, but there's a twinkle of a great idea here. Using technology to influence philanthropy is a step that many charitable organizations are already making with social applications and complex, sustainable donation and fundraising systems. Tell me more Don-8r robot, I'm listening.

 

 

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Don-8r the panhandling robot set to make the homeless obsolete (video)

via Engadget by Brian Heater on 4/26/11

Until now, one field has been safe from robotic interference: collecting money on the street. Not for long. A space already overcrowded with guitar playing hippies, dogs in bandanas, and children carrying bright orange UNICEF boxes has a new force to reckon with. It's Don-8r (pronounced "donator," for those who don't speak robot), programmed expressly to collect change and be adorable. University of Dundee student Tim Pryde created the coin-fueled robot to help raise money for charity. It's taken a few spins around the school's campus and has already mastered the three Ps of money collection: politeness, persistence, and performance -- the latter accomplished via color changing lights in its orb-like head. Video of Don-8r doing its thing after the break.

Continue reading Don-8r the panhandling robot set to make the homeless obsolete (video)

Don-8r the panhandling robot set to make the homeless obsolete (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 26 Apr 2011 07:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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