I never pass up a robot race. I can say this because I have heard of exactly one robot race ever, and I did not pass it up.
On April 12 I attended the Robot Race and Human 5K, sponsored by Vecna Cares. This was actually two separate races, a human 5K followed by a robot 100-meter dash. Or a 100-meter slow crawl, depending which robot we’re talking about. Or a 50-meter roll followed by a dead stop.
You can get the full play-by-play in the slideshow above. There were triumphs; there were disasters; there were Roombas. There were a lot of sweaty humans marveling at modern technology while also, perhaps, feeling reassured that robots aren’t quite ready to take over the world. If you ever hear about a robot race in your neighborhood, I’d recommend not passing it up.
Robot wranglers prepared for the 100-meter race coming after the ...