_Blabdroid

Blabdroid is the world’s first documentary directed entirely by robots. The droids in question are equipped with a camera, sensors, and a smile. Engineered to be disarmingly cute as part of author Alexander Reben’s MIT Media Lab thesis, the robots are voiced by a 7-year old boy. Able to sense when people are nearby, the droids ask their subjects intimate questions, such as Who do you love most in the world? What’s the worst thing you’ve ever done to somebody? What’s something you’ve never told a stranger?

Reben and his collaborator Brent Hoff will create a documentary from the footage the droids have gathered. They also plan to bring the Blabdroids to the consumer market, allowing people to create their own robot-filmed documentaries.