As was foretold, we've added advertisements to the forums! If you have questions, or if you encounter any bugs, please visit this thread: https://forums.penny-arcade.com/discussion/240191/forum-advertisement-faq-and-reports-thread/

AC CHALLENGE 33: Valentine Robotics Inc. "Sexy but Functional"

desperaterobotsdesperaterobots perth, ausRegistered User regular
As the legendary champion of the previous challenge thread, the task for this challenge thread falls upon me. It is an important quest that I do not take lightly.

Therefore, let us conceive of, then illustrate, the intriguing robotic products created by the fine, faceless folk over at Valentine Robotics Inc.

valentinerobotics_zps96664e99.jpg

SOME HISTORY: Valentine Robotics Inc. have been in business since 1946, when they went to market with the world's first singing valentines day card. The public was disturbed by the sight of the greasy, human-like mechanized voice box that was glued in to each of the cards, and aside from complaints about the bulk and weight (up to 7 pounds, depending on the selected greeting) the public was scandalized when the story broke that famed Hollywood actress Penny Roxenberg had supplied her voice for what the media had dubbed an "inhuman contraption".

useless-robots-1-0709-lgn.jpg

It was the following year in 1947 when the "Valentine's Day Dinner Date and Dust Reducer" was released. It was a humanoid robot that generated amusing repartee when in the vicinity of wine and roses and could fill balloons with airborne particulates. The product's design was crude and tended to spread dust rather than reduce it due to faulty sensors over-inflating the balloons. However, it was a breakthrough hit that had made awkward dinners alone a thing of the past. Thanks to an increased advertising budget, this time the media dubbed the device a "godless curiosity" - considered high praise at the time. The robot dog pictured above was just a fake.

valentineleak1_zpsa385eed3.jpg

Since then, there has been a Valentine Robotics Inc. product released each and every Valentines Day. Dr Esperato Robotos, the current CEO, sums up the guiding design principle of the company as being "Sexy but Functional" adding, "We don't make products, we make interactive experiences that are good for one day of the year - Valentines Day. Then after that, they mop your floors or whatever. It's really a very good system, especially if you like accumulating many, many single-function robots. Which I do."

THE CHALLENGE:

Choose a year between 1946 and 2050 and design Valentine Robotics Incorporated's product release for that year. Take as many design cues from the era as you like. Just make sure the machine performs two functions - A fantastic companion for the lonely on Valentines Day AND a handy domestic tool that will be useful throughout the rest of the year. Who wouldn't want to take their ironing board out to dinner?

The deadline is: February 14th, 2013. Valentines Day.

Posts

Sign In or Register to comment.