Robot’s First Steps
Posted: November 27th, 2009 | Author: Nathan | Filed under: field recording, found sound objects, sound design
I'm now the proud owner of an NJ-1 Heavy Lifting Utility Unit!
I’m very excited to share a new audio recording: The first steps of my new NJ-1 Heavy Lifting Utility Unit (HLUU). The HLUU is a do-everything kind of robot, and I’m hoping to use it for landscaping and home improvement projects. It was a big purchase in a pretty down economy, but my significant other and I think it’s a solid long-term investment.
I was so excited that I had to grab my field recorder and document its first steps. The manual says to let it charge overnight and then calibrate its voice command recognition system, but I just couldn’t wait to just let ‘er rip. Unfortunately, that meant that it only took a few steps before losing power and automatically shutting down, so that’s why this clip is so short.
This puts my Roomba to shame. Check out the recording below and say hello to HLUU!
WalkingRobot 001 by noisejockey
[Røde NT4 stereo microphone into Sound Devices 702 recorder]
So awesome. I’m sure that HLUU will serve you for many years to come. What sort of warranty does it come with?
Yeah, I want to know about that warranty.
You can inspect the finer details of the NJ-1 HLUU by going here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/atomick/4138923755/sizes/o/
The warranty is low because it’s a new product: 1 year or 150,000 steps, whichever comes first. There’s no coverage due to misuse and there’s an explicit waiver on damage to people if it just keels over and falls on someone.
In the words of Tom Waits, “The Big Print giveth, and the Small Print taketh away.” ;-)
Surely this a windup, Nathan? You’ve bought Robocop to do your gardening?! Classic!
That is awesome! You bought a giant freaking robot.