An innovative social experiment by a staff member of independent agency Atomic 212° suggests that the future of contemporary dating may very well involve sending a robot to test drive eligible suitors.
Instead of showing up in person, Susan Pammer decided to go on a first date earlier this month through the medium of a portable telepresence robot.
Without leaving her desk, Pammer digitally dined with her date (James Deiley) at Uccello in Sydney.
“After witnessing what Atomic did with Lucy the Robot, I thought this was the basis for an interesting social experiment,” Pammer said.
“I pitched the idea to our CEO Jason Dooris and he was happy for me to run with it. This is a testament to the agency, who have been kind enough to provide the resources and have allowed me to develop this cool idea for the purpose of innovation.
“With the rise of technology and broader Web 2.0, the media industry is constantly evolving, and I was interested in applying these same principals of change to the concept of dating.”
Deiley said the pair initially met online and a mutual friend organised the blind date.
“I was intrigued from the get go… dating a robot seemed pretty far-fetched and futuristic,” he said.
Atomic 212° CEO Jason Dooris said he was thrilled that Susan approached him with the idea to use the robot for the sake of doing something new.
“We are an independent agency that nurtures creativity,” he said.
“Susan is an up and coming industry young-gun and I am curious to see where this experiment will go.”
