I-Ting Do

I really must be losing it. I caught myself today talking to a hospital robot like it was a sentient being. I had inadvertently bumped into the boxy self-propelled R2D2-like pharmacy robot when pushing through a hallway door, "Oh! Excuse me, Clara!"

Her name is emblazoned on the front of her "face" right above her cyclopian "eye" which functions to detect any hindrance, human or not, in her path. Should she come upon an obstacle in her way, she stops and patiently beeps until it gets the message and gets lost. If, say, the gurney in front of her doesn't pay heed, Clara will pause a bit (one could imagine her heaving a silent sigh of exasperation) before navigating herself around the uncooperative bed.

Clara really is cute in her own pre-programmed way, gently rolling down hallways, deftly taking corner turns to exactly where she needs to go. She's just cute enough to make you want to engage her in friendly conversation, like a lunatic.