The pitch for Big Clapper, a $4,500 robot that’s currently raising funds on Kickstarter, is simple. Do you feel underappreciated in life? Would you like a little more support? How about some applause for all that amazing work you do? Fantastic. You should definitely buy this tomato-faced robot to clap and cheer you on for the rest of your life.
Okay, so that’s not the only use for Big Clapper, but it is one option. This robot seems primarily designed for retail stores and businesses as a way to attract attention and generally freak out and / or delight passersby. Think of it as a cousin of those wacky waving inflatable tube arm things, but smaller, louder, and much, much weirder.
Big Clapper (which we spotted via IEEE Spectrum) started its life as an art project by Japanese designer Masato Takahashi, who first built a single pair of clapping hands, then two, and then a whole wall. Earlier prototypes used more lifelike hands, which were, in Takahashi’s own words, “completely disgusting.” After showing off some prototype Big Clappers at CES this year (to rapturous applause no doubt), Takahashi has turned to Kickstarter to raise funds for a larger production run.
Each Big Clapper has a motion sensor to detect nearby gawkers and a number of different operation modes. You can get it to clap basic rhythms, clap on demand, clap along with music, or program it to say whatever you like using an accompanying app. The robot’s eyes are also designed in a way that makes it seem like it’s always looking at you. This makes Big Clapper look, frankly, a little terrifying.
Anyway, we hope that Big Clapper gets funded enough that Takahashi decides to make a smaller, more affordable version. Imagine a Little Clapper that’s just a few inches tall, sitting on your desktop, cheering you on with single-minded intensity. You just might get something done with your life.
Comments
For that kind of money, it better be using those hands for more than just clapping.
By rogsim on 07.09.18 11:02am
Ouch.
By afaintglow on 07.09.18 11:13am
The Japanese are now targeting millennials.
In all honesty this would be fun (though almost certainly inappropriate) for a manager to plunk down on someone’s desk when they say they are underappreciated.
By shabanga on 07.09.18 12:15pm
And then get fired for wasting $4,500 on a useless robot lol.
Sounds like something Michael Scott would do from The Office.
By Stone Cold Dan Quinn on 07.09.18 1:37pm
Are you saying it can’t applaud my death?
By H Y P E on 07.09.18 12:22pm
LOL, I scanned through this one really quick and thought it said $45.00 and I thought, wow, what waste of 45 bucks. Then I saw the top comment re-read, wowsers!
By Johnny Wick on 07.09.18 1:15pm
This is going to put all those "live studio audiences," out of work
By Soylentgreen77 on 07.09.18 1:33pm
Not Jerry Springer’s though. There’s no algorithm that can get the chant just right.
By Stone Cold Dan Quinn on 07.09.18 1:38pm
Is he still doing shows?
By JBDragon on 07.09.18 8:19pm
I can’t imagine he’s not, I’m about to Google it.
By Stone Cold Dan Quinn on 07.10.18 9:18am
Dude, the show just ended a few weeks ago. This is sad. The end of an era.
By Stone Cold Dan Quinn on 07.10.18 9:23am
Can’t we ship a few hundred to Elon in order to keep him out of the news for a day or two?
By _LC_ on 07.09.18 4:57pm
It can’t keep him off of Twitter, as amused by it as he will be.
By Stone Cold Dan Quinn on 07.10.18 9:24am
Speaking of Elon, this looks ideal for deployment as an interstellar probe.
By Omnicog on 07.09.18 7:07pm
Tomorrows landfill.
By fluffylucy on 07.09.18 8:59pm
Simone did it first.
https://youtu.be/0UVHiVy9jjk
By velogiraptor on 07.09.18 11:17pm
This thing would be broken long before I die, that clapper would get these hands. Although I would never spend that kind of money on something so non essential.
By Ralphc on 07.10.18 10:14am
The perfect gift for the insecure president on your list: the ultimate in piercingly obnoxious, meaningless accolades. Could become the mascot for the Space Force even.
By dissectable77 on 07.10.18 10:18pm