Little Prince Is An Eye with a Green Thumb
90 years from now, we might be able to colonize Mars. But to actually inhabit the planet, we’ll need the help of this wide-eyed robot.
This overgrown robotic eyeball known as Le Petit Prince or The Little Prince (see image below) is supposed to bear and nurture a plant inside a capsule perched on top of it. Apparently, the robot is programmed to learn how to seek for optimal areas for growing the plant it carries. It can also communicate with other robots like it through wireless technology.
Each set of robots can be assigned a specific plant species. So, for example, a robot assigned to a cactus will have to find an area with a different environment compared to one assigned to a fruit tree. Once one robot finds the right spot for its plant, it can then inform the others. Those robots carrying the same kind of plant (or plants that can grown in the same environment) can then proceed to the area found.
Le Petit Prince is one of the finalists in this year’s Electrolux Design Lab, an annual competition for all industrial design students. This year, contestants were asked to submit their best concept for a home appliance to be used 90 years from now.
I know what you’re thinking but I also don’t know how this robot qualified for this contest when it looks like it isn’t built for the home. But then again, maybe we’ll have to start off as nomads in the open deserts of Mars before we actually end up constructing our residential buildings there.
The conceptualizer of Le Petit Prince, Martin Miklica, claims his inspiration for this concept was “The Naked Sun” (a book by Isaac Asimov), Star Wars’ R2-D2, an egg, and insects. You know what he may have forgotten? – Mike Wazowski. Yup, I’m talking about James P. Sullivan’s sidekick in Monster’s, Inc. Just one look at Mike’s photo, and you’ll have to agree.
