Would you like to have an interactive experience with a real robot on-line?

This Saturday starting at 3:00 pm and lasting until 7:00 pm (eastern
time) you can interact with a robot named REX.

REX is at a primitive stage of interaction. Although REX can hear you
speak, his ability to understand spoken word is limited to a few
requests. At this time REX has a small domain of phrases he will
respond to. As with all our REX technology this will evolve and get
better. These on-line experiences will be studied in the lab and used
to expand future REX interactions. We hope you enjoy what REX can do
now and in the future.

Windows Live Messenger 8.0. - We have tested using this release of
Live Messenger and it seems to work well. In the future we may use
other popular software such as Skype. For now you will need Windows
Live Messenger 8.0. If you do not have a Windows Live ID, you will
need one.

Microphone, Speaker, or Headset Combination - REX has the ability to
listen and speak. He does not type. Interaction is achieved by use of
a microphone to speak with REX and speakers to hear REX speak.

Broadband Connection - To get the most out of your interaction with
REX you will need to see him moving. This is not possible over a slow
connection. For the best experience you should have a broadband
connection like a cable modem or T1 line. Satellite and other systems
with latency do not show REX at his best.

Patience - As mentioned above REX has a limited understanding at this
early stage. He will be taught more in the future. At this time the
phrases REX will respond to are...
Make a face
Look angry REX
Look disgusted REX
Look frightened REX
Look happy REX
Look sad REX
Look surprised REX
Tell me about yourself
Goodbye REX

Any other phrases will produce no behavior or may unintentionally be
interpreted by REX as one of the phrases mentioned above.

How to interact with REX on-line

Time and Priority - We will be offering an interactive experience with
REX on-line starting Saturdays between 3:00pm and 7:00pm eastern
standard time. Interaction is restrict with REX to one-on-one first
come first serve.

Add contact - You will need to add rex.robot@hotmail.com to your
contacts list in Windows Live Messenger. Look for the name REX in your
contact list. REX will be in one of a few possible states...

On-line - REX is waiting for a call
In a Call - REX is busy interacting with someone

You will need to wait for REX to become available to take your call.
When REX is in the On-line state you may start a video call by right
clicking on REX in your contact list and selecting "Video" -> "Start a
Video Call" from the menu. REX will answer your call in a first come
first serve manner. After a few moments REX should appear on your
screen. Windows Live Messenger shows the progression of the call below
the video section. Calls will have a time limit of two minutes. After
two minutes REX will say goodbye and end the call. You can try to
contact REX again if you wish to continue your interaction. In the
future we hope to have a calling queue.

This is a pilot program  - If you have questions or comments please
send them to REX at rex.robot@hotmail.com or
rex@interactivecybernetics.com.

Thank you. We hope you enjoy your interaction.