This Robot Needs Your Help

What if you were walking in a park one day, minding your own business, when you looked down and saw a tiny human-like robot struggling along at a snail's pace? Would you reach down and give it a helpful push?

That was the question Kacie Kinzer, an NYU graduate student, was seeking to answer when she created Tweenbots. And she was surprised by the willingness of New Yorkers to help the defenseless little guys navigate the city.

The smiling 10-inch tall cardboard missionaries have a destination displayed on a flag, and people help aim them in the right direction to reach their goal. The results speak as much to "the power of a simple technological object to create a complex network powered by human intelligence and asynchronous interactions," as Kinzer writes, as to the nature of human empathy.