Cute Robots in NYC!

An NYC art student built a little robot that that only moves in one direction. She set it up on one side of a park and attached a flag letting people around it know where it was trying to go. The idea is to see if people will help it along it's course. The video shows that it did.

But what's interesting is that the robot is damn cute. If it was an ugly beast of a machine, would people still be inclined to help? Or if it's intentions were a little bit more complex, would people still help? I think there is something in how people relate to simple, harmless (and helpless) things - like babies, puppies and kittens. this little robot is showing (might be a stretch but...) that we can impart affection and care that's usually reserved for living things on to objects.

via Engadget