Pianist envy

Regular reader(s) may have been disappointed at the lack of entertaining robot news recently. It's all well and good building androids that can go into space, perform keyhole surgery, teach kids to read or cook a three-course dinner. But, as a long-time robophile, I can't help but feel a misty-eyed yearning for the days of Johnny 5 and C-3PO, when automatons were just a bit more fun.

Take a bow, Teotronica! If you possessed the robo-invention skills of Italian brainiac Matteo Suzzi, what would you set your mind to? Automating production processes for cleaner fuels, perhaps? Or developing complex algorithms to immunise against stock market fluctuations?
That'd be alright, I guess. But how about a weird-looking robotic Billy Joel? Yeah, let's go with that one.

It took Suzzi some four years to bring Teotronica to life. I've had a wee look at the robo-pianist, and I can't help but like the fella. I always try and apply the same judging criteria to robots as I do to humans. And if I met a guy in the pub with 19 fingers, a little Mickey-Pearce-meets-the-Artful-Dodger hat and wildly oscillating eyebrows, I think I'd take a pretty instant shine to him.

Teotronica can also pay the drums and sing and does a mega version of We Are The Champions, which can be viewed here. Here's hoping he does a tour of the Barking and Dagenham area's classier nightspots in the not-too-distant future.