If, like me, you were a fan of the Tomy robot collection from the 1980s, then you may also recall the tantalising sensation born out of an awareness of what those robots were unable to do, which was almost as invigorating as what they could do.
Take Chatbot: it was equipped with a mechanical voice recorder that was primed by pulling a large level down whilst speaking a message, then triggered by remote control. Hours of fun ensued driving it around with occasional spoken messages being relayed.
Chatbot was not without limitation, however. It could not engage in further conversation – or be instructed to move – or check on the road conditions outside.
Now that it is 2024, Chatbot could – and over the coming weeks I hope to reveal one way of achieving an upgrade to this venerable robot!
