The “RT” of Social Distancing

Over Coffee® | Stories and Resources from the Intersection of Art and Science | Exploring How to Make STEAM Work For You

(Photo courtesy of Michele Frances, and used with permission.) Austin robot enthusiast Luke Keyes hated the idea of cancelling trick-or-treat this year. Halloween is his favorite holiday. Pre-pandemic, he and his wife shared their enthusiasm for candy and technology with small visitors through a "haunted science lab" which Luke and his fellow makers created. But this year, the pandemic prevented that kind of Halloween interaction. Then, inspiration struck. Luke, who has been creating robots since his college days, realized that his six-foot creation, Artie the Robot, could deliver candy to trick-or-treaters. And now, with Artie's help, he's planning on a fun and socially-distanced Halloween celebration. Celebrations are nothing new to Artie. Since Luke created him in 2013, he's appeared at ribbon cuttings, SXSW sessions and Maker Faires, according to his Facebook page. (Yes, Artie the Robot does have a Facebook page of his own!) Luke likes to use Artie--and his other robotic creations--to encourage kids to create robots of their own. Meanwhile, he continues to have fun building robots of his own for Bot Party, an improvisational theatre organization which builds improv pieces around robots. Luke shared Artie's story, offered a preview of Artie's Halloween activities and shared some of his favorite resources for anyone who'd like to build their own robot. On this edition of Over Coffee®, you will hear: How robots first captured Luke's imagination; The story of Artie the Robot; The resources Luke recommends, for future fellow robot creators; Some background on Artie's experience as a contender for the Guinness Book of World Records; How Luke's annual Halloween creative projects evolved into using Artie to deliver candy, this year; The ways he modified Artie to be a "candy delivery robot"; Safety precautions which Luke and his wife are taking, as Artie delivers Halloween treats; A mechanism Luke has designed to prevent kids from finding Artie "scary"'; Luke's Halloween plans for Artie the Robot; How Luke is inspiring the next generation of robot creators! Where to see Luke's work online (including his creations for a cool interactive group with which he works, in his spare time!); What's next, for Artie the Robot, as Luke upgrades him! And, another new robot which Luke currently has in the works.