YOU TRY IT! Turn Your Friend into a Robot

Who doesn’t want to turn their friends into robots? Or maybe one of your siblings or coworkers? Here’s how!

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WHAT YOU NEED

  1. Two cell phones with video capability

WHAT TO DO

  1. Move to two different locations where you can’t see each other, either in another room, another building, or outside. (Tip: It’s best if the person who’s the robot does not tell the controller where they’re starting.)
  2. Connect to your friend by video on your phones. You’re going to take turns, with one of you as the controller, the other as the robot.
  3. The robot person holds the phone so that it points straight ahead, away from them. This way, the control person can see where the robot person is.
  4. The control person gives a command to the robot to do something, such as turn to the right, move forward or backward, or zoom in on an object—similar to commands that would be sent to a robot on Mars.
  5. When you’re the robot person receiving a command, count to ten before doing what your friend says. This represents the time delay for a signal to travel between Earth and Mars. (The real time delay is twenty minutes each way, but that would make for a long and boring experiment.)
  6. The control person needs to tell the robot when to stop and start, but maintain that ten count between every command and execution, even if the robot is about to crash into a wall. Just know that if that happens, the mission is over.