Robot Love

TLC FOR THE A.I.: Opening lines can sometimes take too long to get to a post's point -- that was just one example, what we wrote there -- but there's no quibbling with the strong opener on the Riverside Robot Expo's page: "You will see scores of real robots, TV robots, and movie robots including a life-size Wall-E, R2D2, and the Lost in Space robot!" Done and done and done. We're sold. But the Saturday, Nov. 19 event, which is bleeping and blorping at Riverside's Woodcrest Library, isn't simply about showing up and ogling the wiring and rivets of some very impressive machines. It's about talking with other robot enthusiasts about their hobby or full-time calling. It's about sharing build techniques and information. And it's about introducing kids who might have a nascent interest in all things artificial intelligence.

ON THE ROBOT ROSTER: Cameos by the superstar androids mentioned above, as well as Robot Elvis. (That sounds like next year's big Halloween costume to us.) There's a Build-a-Bot workshop and a chance to control some A.I.s going metal toe-to-toe in races and battles. It's billed as "the biggest robot event in Southern California." If you're a bot buff and you live in the SoCal area, save the Saturday before Thanksgiving. Wall-E! Will Eve be off saving the universe that day? We wouldn't doubt it.

Copyright FREEL - NBC Local Media
Contact Us