HELSINKI—A futuristic thing is happening at the Redi shopping center: a robot exhibition titled Robopark.
I joined the exhibition, and here’s what happened.
A guide who speaks English, Russian, Spanish, Polish and Finnish (the guide was one of the few who speaks Finnish)—took me through every robot.
At the start, I met small robots. I was greeted by Unitree A1, which was on a stroll and familiarized itself with new surroundings.
Zowi, a tiny interactive robot danced for me. Vector and Cozmo, the brother-sister duo known from the movie Wall-E, sang songs and played with children.
Magnetic Globus didn’t look like a cobra but acted like one. When I put my hand in front of the robot, it analyzed my palm, struck, but unlike the snake didn’t hurt me.
Baby Yoda had cute expressions when I was petting it.
To not give it all away, I still want to mention the Barista Bot, who helped me stay alert and served me a cup of piping hot coffee.
After leaving Robopark, I remembered what Alona Orlova, the project director of Mirey Robotics, the company behind the exhibition, told me: “The expo aims to educate all age groups about the robots.”
While “education” may be a strong expression, I did feel like I had been exposed to a futuristic thing.
Robopark is open until November 21, 2021, at the Redi shopping center.
