Using three photographs, a 55-year-old video clip and $700 from the Benton Engineering Council, the UF Gator Robotics club resurrected a 7-foot robot from the past.
Michael Andrews, president of the Benton Engineering Council, asked Gator Robotics last month to rebuild a robot named Otto, which was built by a UF electrical engineer in 1957.
The robot is the mascot for Engineering Week, which ends today. Otto will be on display at the State of the College Address at 5:30 p.m. in the Reitz Union Grand Ballroom.
The seven-student design team completed the basic construction of the robot Wednesday, said Camilo Buscaron, president of Gator Robotics.
“I’m really proud of the work they did,” he said.
The robot can move its eyes, mouth and arms, 18-year-old material science and engineering freshman Kevin French said. The team plans to add a speaker so Otto can talk and to give Otto the ability to shake hands and wave.
“We have been brainstorming all kinds of things to add to him. Everything from a jet pack to tank treads,” French said. “Maybe a team in the future will make a female Otto, and it’ll be like the new Albert and Alberta.”
A 7-foot robot named Otto built by the Gator Robotics club stands on display on the Colonnade last Wednesday. The robot is a replica of the original bot, which was built in 1957 by an electrical engineering student from UF.
