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John Hawley and His Dr. Who-Inspired Robot K-9 (Video)

By day John Hawley is a mild-mannered open hardware evangelist for Intel. But after hours he is the master of K-9, a robot dog he works on a little at a time. Yes, this is a Whovian thing, which is why John's K-9 looks so much like the Doctor's. But K-9 is also a pretty good dog on his/her own. No vet bills, no constant hunger, no barking at feral cats in the middle of the night, obeys every command... so maybe Dr. Who and John Hawley have the right idea when it comes to canines. Except.... aww.... my dog, Terri the Terrorist Terrier, just licked my hand. What a sweetie! Terri may not take orders from a hand-held remote, but she has a lot of other fine characteristics, including affection. K-9 is very cute in a squared-off, mechanical way, though. Hard to resist, despite a lack of soft fur and no tongue for licking his/her master's hand. (Alternate Video Link)

23 comments

  1. no chick magnet by turkeydance · · Score: 1

    maybe a rare earth one or two.

    1. Re:no chick magnet by kaladorn · · Score: 1

      You've clearly never seen Leela of the Seva Team (aka Survey Team).

      http://www.shadowlocked.com/images/stories/whoreviews/baker/leela.jpg

      --
      -- Mal: "Well they tell you: never hit a man with a closed fist. But it is, on occasion, hilarious."
  2. What the hell by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

    Are you blabbering on about? Get an editor... oh wait, you are one.

    1. Re:What the hell by HornWumpus · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Is this /. or a preteen's blog?

      Worst summary ever.

      --
      John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
  3. Another advantage to K-9 by The123king · · Score: 1

    He doesn't shit on the carpet.

    --
    If you gave me a choice between a printer and a giraffe with explosive diarrhoea, i'll get my ladder and my raincoat
  4. He's not called "Dr. Who" by wonkey_monkey · · Score: 1, Flamebait

    John Hawley and His Dr. Who-Inspired Robot K-9

    It's not "Dr. Who".

    so maybe Dr. Who and John Hawley have the right idea

    His name isn't "Dr. Who" or "Doctor Who." He's just the Doctor.

    See sig!

    his/her master's hand

    master/mistress, surely?

    --
    systemd is Roko's Basilisk.
    1. Re:He's not called "Dr. Who" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      master/mistress, surely?

      Affirmative.

    2. Re:He's not called "Dr. Who" by uCallHimDrJ0NES · · Score: 1

      Wow. That's a lot of obligatory fan responses. You must be easy to wind up! I've loved K9 and all of the robot animals ever since they appeared with Dr. Who and his granddaughter in "King Kong Escapes". I can't believe anyone ever watched that BBC ripoff TV version.

      --
      Cloudiot: A person who does not see offsite storage as a way to lose control over access to his or her own data.
    3. Re:He's not called "Dr. Who" by Immerman · · Score: 1

      Why are you assuming they are referring to the character rather than the show? That works just as well in context. e.g. "Maybe Star Trek and Patrick Stewart had the right idea on how to deal with aggressive hive-minds."

      --
      --- Most topics have many sides worth arguing, allow me to take one opposite you.
    4. Re:He's not called "Dr. Who" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "Dr Who," "Doctor Who," or "The Doctor" are all correct.

      http://onna4.tumblr.com/post/52478323995/hes-not-called-doctor-who

  5. Dogs.... by NormAtHome · · Score: 1

    Dogs can be very sensitive to their owners feelings i.e. "You're feeling down friend, maybe a lick on the hand will make you feel better" and each one has it's own personality (anyone whose owned multiple dogs knows that) and while the idea of a robot dog modeled after K-9 is cool there's just no programming love. (at least right now)

    1. Re:Dogs.... by camperdave · · Score: 2

      "You're feeling down friend, maybe a lick on the hand will make you feel better"

      You're sure they're not just tasting you and hoping that you're about to kick off?

      --
      When our name is on the back of your car, we're behind you all the way!
    2. Re:Dogs.... by NormAtHome · · Score: 1

      I can't speak to all breeds but there have been many recorded cases of dogs guarding their owners dead body's without any signs that the animal ate any part of the owner and it took animal control to take the dog away because it wouldn't allow anyone to come close.

      My dogs have always been incredibly sensitive to my feelings, if I'm down they'd come over and lay their head on my foot or lap or go get their ball and throw it at me as if to say "Come on buddy, lets have some fun". I've never heard of a dog eating their dead owner, so I doubt that very much.

    3. Re:Dogs.... by HornWumpus · · Score: 1

      When a dog licks you he is kissing you. When a cat licks you he is tasting you.

      --
      John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
    4. Re:Dogs.... by HornWumpus · · Score: 1

      Occasionally a little dog will partake of owner. But generally dogs would rather starve.

      Cats, on the other hand, are just biding their time.

      --
      John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
    5. Re:Dogs.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If you haven't heard of a dog eating his dead owner, you haven't been listening;
      http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/dog-eats-owner-head-trapped-apartment-died-article-1.1324057
      http://sandrarose.com/2013/01/pet-dog-eats-owners-face-after-he-died-dog-put-up-for-adoption/
      http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-409885/Dog-eats-dead-master-wife.html

      Of course, some don't wait for death, sleeping is close enough
      http://sandrarose.com/2013/07/man-wakes-up-to-find-pet-dog-eating-his-testicle/
      http://www.wtsp.com/news/article/5163/8/Pet-dog-eats-boys-fingers

  6. Crappy summary = SlashDot's distinguishing feature by xxxJonBoyxxx · · Score: 2

    >> Worst summary ever.

    You must be new here.

  7. Zzzz by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    So someone working for one of the largest tech companies in the world has spent his life making.....a remote controlled car with a wooden K-9 body? I'm pretty sure any half awake teenager could have accomplished this in an afternoon.

  8. Maybe I've just gone to too many cons.... by mark-t · · Score: 3, Insightful

    But this honestly doesn't impress me as a K-9 replica. Sure, it seems like it's a decent start on one, but it looks far from finished. Even if all that is really left to do on is just "spit 'n polish" to make it look like the genuine article, it seems almost as far from a replica of K-9 as it would be to apply the term 'light saber replica' to a painted broom handle.

    And its head doesn't even move... no extensible nose antenna or waggy ears or tail.

    Nope.... just nope.

    Like I said though... maybe I've just gone to too many cons or something, because I've seen vastly more impressive replicas of K-9 and other famous robots than this in recent years.

  9. I've seen much better at Doctor Who Conventions. by jeffmflanagan · · Score: 1

    Doctor Who fans have been building much better K-9's for decades now.

    Why was this posted? Because Linux?

  10. Re:I've seen much better at Doctor Who Conventions by mark-t · · Score: 1

    I have to say that I was not overly impressed as well. To this guy's credit, however, at least this one was equipped with (although you do not ever actually see it, but are going only by what the fellow claims about it) all-terrain tank treads that would enable it to move over any surface, while most of the decent K-9 replicas that I've seen would not perform very well on soil, or dirt, for example.

  11. MUT from Vancouver by Teunis · · Score: 1

    I prefer this one : https://www.facebook.com/MUTmechpup

    Sure the videos there aren't as clean, but the K9 in question has a lot that works ...

  12. I've seen one of the original K-9's by publiclurker · · Score: 0

    at a Doctor Who convention. They couldn't perform very well on soil either.