Culture
The Sad Truth About Food-Delivering Robots
The failure of San Francisco's "TacoCopter" is just one example of how we are failing at creating a functional, robotic delivery boy.
It's 2012. There are robots that kill suspected terrorists, robots that perform delicate surgical procedures. Is it too much, then, to ask for a robot capable of delivering a box of steaming barbacoa tacos directly into the hands of a city dweller?
Apparently, yes. All the engineers in the world have not succeeded in conjuring up a single food-delivering bot that doesn't induce a fit of the giggles. The recent failure of San Francisco's TacoCopter drives home that point.