Vending Machine Robot Built To Steal Sodas
Malfunctioning vending machines. They are often the bane of the office worker’s existence. We’ve all been there. You’ve got exactly $1 to ease your growling stomach. You hurry to the break room, insert your money, press the button for that Snickers or bag of pretzels, and nothing comes out. You pound and pound on the piece of shit machine to no avail. I once worked at a place where drinks would get stuck between the vending slots and the front glass of the machine. The only I could get them out was to step in the opening at the bottom of the machine, grab on to the sides and bang back and forth with my hips, using my full body weight. And people wonder how those vending machine fatalities happen…
One French inventor may have solved the vending machine conundrum once and for all. YouTube user iodurematallique a video March 12 in which he demonstrates his new invention—a remote-controlled robot that can steal soda cans from vending machines. Although the video is completely in French, it includes a two-minute demonstration in which the robot—controlled with a handheld game pad—steals two cans of soda. Basically a high-tech claw, the robot raises to the desired level of the machine and grabs the soda, knocking it down for retrieval. Since it’s controlled somewhat like traditional “Big Claw” carnival games, the device will only work with vending machines that have a transparent front, not classic enclosed machines.
The invention is only for fun, though, and Ioduremetallique has no intentions to use it for evil. “This video was released in order to entertain and in no way encourage anyone to steal anything,” he wrote in French. Sure, Frenchie, whatever you say…
