Meet your match, Basil the beer-delivering robot: BaR2-D2

Denver-based robot designers Jim and Louise Gunderson did pretty well when they invented Basil, a wicked smart beer-delivering robot. But they seem to have forgotten a cardinal rule in robot pop culture: Every robot is guaranteed by universal law to have an equally talented and somewhat similar-looking arch nemesis. And...

By Joel Warner

January 12, 2009

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Denver-based robot designers Jim and Louise Gunderson did pretty well when they invented Basil, a wicked smart beer-delivering robot. But they seem to have forgotten a cardinal rule in robot pop culture: Every robot is guaranteed by universal law to have an equally talented and somewhat similar-looking arch nemesis. And Basil's arch nemesis, it turns out, is the perfectly named BaR2-D2, shown in the video below.

Basil may have a fully functioning brain that allows him to identify objects in the real world, but BaR2-D2 is decked out in neon. Yes, Basil may have the ability to teach himself about the world, but BaR2-D2 has a six-bottle shot dispenser. Sure, Basil may pave the way for a brave new world of intelligent machines, but BaR2-D2 has a beer elevator. And did we note BaR2-D2 is covered in neon?

According to robot law, there's only one thing to do: Robot death match. Let the best drunken bot win.

Click "More" to see the video. -- Joel Warner

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Joel Warner is a former staff writer for Westword and International Business Times. He's also written for WIRED, Men's Journal, Men's Health, Bloomberg Businessweek, Popular Science, Slate, Grantland and many other publications. He's co-author of the 2014 book The Humor Code: A Global Search for What Makes Things Funny, published by Simon & Schuster.

Contact: Joel Warner