NASA recently asked us for help in naming the next Mars Rover. Now Carnegie Science Center needs a name for their new robot, who will greet visitors at roboworld, the world's largest permanent robotics exhibit. You can vote for one of five preselected names in an online poll. Options include naming the robot Isaac after Isaac Asimov, Stanely after Stanely Kubrick, or three other names derived from technology jargon. Fortunately, they also have a small link below the poll where you can submit your own suggestion if you don't like any of the five preselected names. Oddly the winning name so far is Andy, which is short for Android (odd since the robot in question is not an android). In fact, the robot is a humanoid entertainment robot called the robothespian designed for theatrical use and built by Engineered Arts Ltd in the UK. You may have spotted it at recent Maker Faires where it was exhibited. (photo below is from the 2007 Maker Faire in Austin). Read on for the full press release.

Help name Carnegie Science Center’s new robot

Newest staff member will greet visitors in roboworld™, opening June 13

PITTSBURGH, PA— Carnegie Science Center is asking Pittsburghers and robot fanatics around the world to help name its newest staff member, a humanoid robot that will greet visitors at the entrance of roboworld™, the world’s largest permanent robotics exhibition currently under construction on the Science Center’s second floor.

The poll for the robot’s name launched today at www.CarnegieScienceCenter.org and will run through Wednesday, April 15. Visitors to the Science Center website have the option to vote for one of the five pre-selected names:

• Stanley (in honor of 2001: A Space Odyssey director Stanley Kubrick)
• Andy (short for android)
• Ralph (roboworld’s Absolutely Lifelike Performing Humanoid)
• Chip (for microchip)
• Isaac (in honor of famed science fiction author Isaac Asimov)

Visitors also have the opportunity to submit their own name idea for the new robot. The selected name will be announced April 16. Images of the robot are available on the Science Center’s website.

The robot was built by Engineered Arts Limited of Cornwall, England, and will be arriving at the Science Center in mid-April.

roboworld will open to the public on Saturday, June 13, as the world’s largest and most comprehensive permanent robotics exhibition, further cementing Pittsburgh as a world leading location for robotics. The $3.5 million exhibition will occupy a 6,000 square-foot exhibit area previously used for touring exhibitions and will feature more than 30 hands-on, interactive exhibit stations in three thematic areas focusing on robotic sensing, thinking, and acting.

In addition to the three major thematic areas, roboworld will feature two specialized areas allowing visitors to interact with robotics technology as it is being developed and to visit with some of the world’s most famous robots. Within the roboworld exhibition gallery will be a dedicated Robot Workshop providing companies and roboticists the opportunity to test their latest innovations and for Science Center visitors the opportunity to experience the latest in robotics technology and interact with scientists working in the field. This space will also serve as an area for visitors to create and test their own robots.

roboworld will pay homage to the tremendous cultural influence of robots with the Robot Hall of Fame®. Created in 2003 by the Carnegie Mellon University School of Computer Science, the Robot Hall of Fame recognizes excellence in robotics technology worldwide and honors the fictional and real robots that have inspired and made breakthrough accomplishments in robotics. Each year a jury of scholars, researchers, writers, designers and entrepreneurs select the real and fictional robots that will be honored by the Robot Hall of Fame. Inductees have included Honda’s ASIMO humanoid robot, “Star Wars” robots R2-D2 and C-3PO, NASA’s Mars Sojourner, HAL 9000 from Arthur C. Clarke’s “2001: A Space Odyssey,” Gort from “The Day the Earth Stood Still,” and the Unimate manufacturing arm. The Robot Hall of Fame will be updated as new inductees are selected.

About Carnegie Science Center

Carnegie Science Center brings the world of science alive for visitors of all ages. One of the four Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh, the Science Center features hundreds of hands-on exhibits, three live demonstration theaters, a four-story IMAX® Dome theater, an interactive full-dome digital planetarium, a Cold War submarine moored on Pittsburgh’s Ohio River, and a world-renowned model railroad display. Carnegie Science Center is located at One Allegheny Avenue on Pittsburgh’s North Shore next to Heinz Field. Visit www.CarnegieScienceCenter.org or call 412.237.3400 for more information.

About Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh

Founded by Andrew Carnegie in 1895, Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh is a collection of four distinctive museums dedicated to exploration through art and science: Carnegie Museum of Art, Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Carnegie Science Center, and The Andy Warhol Museum. In 2008, the museums reached more than one million people through exhibitions, educational programs, outreach activities, and special events.

Mike Marcus

Assistant Director, Marketing and Community Affairs

Carnegie Science Center

412.237.1657

412.551.8375 (cell)

412.237.3309 (fax)

www.CarnegieScienceCenter.org