The operators of the Japanese American National Museum bookstore didn't like the piece at all and removed the magazine from its shelves -- an indication, perhaps, that Giant Robot's inventors shouldn't giveup their day jobs just yet.
That was the idea, at least: to fire up the enthusiasts, geeks and robot evangelists huddled away in the American hinterlands, and give them a shot at applying their collective genius to problems normally left to corporate giants such as Lockheed, General Dynamics and Boeing.
To help them improve their performance, Mataric programs each robot to give itself points for finding food -- the pucks -- and deduct points for goofing up.