Rave Raffe the electric giraffe

At last weekend's Maker Faire, this seventeen-foot robot giraffe approached small children and ordered them to pet him in a voice of cold, montone command. "He. He. He. That tickles," he would say when his sensors are stroked in a chilly, oddly haltering tone that might be best described as the phonemic equivalent of the Syncro LET font. It was weird, yet oddly delightful... which should be taken as good news for any roboticists working on perfecting perversion routines for their AIs. Society will accept your creation. Look at Tickle Me Elmo.

The Giraffe — alternatingly called Russell or Rave Raffe — is the creation of Lindsay Lawlor and Russell Pinnington, and also makes regular appearances at Burning Man.

Electric Giraffe [Official Site via Gadget Lab]

Image: Wired