Video and pictures: Meet Norris, Telford drone firm's new robot worker
Networking events in Shropshire's business community have never welcomed a new face quite like this one.
Meet Norris, the latest addition to the workforce at drone photography company 360Skylens in Telford.
The humanoid robot has joined what was previously a two-man team to bring a new dimension to the business, and has already been set the task of touring the Midlands as a promotional tool of various organisations.
Described by the company as a "robot presenter", the life-sized creation is one of four around the country being run by subsidiaries of SkyLens's parent company 360Globalnet.
"He is basically a promotional tool that is absolutely ideal for use in events and exhibitions," said Skylens director Paul Watkins.
"He's a crowd puller – when he's on an exhibition stand people see him here and gather around to have a look."
While the robot has mainly been used as a promotional tool for businesses so far, his range of functions provides the opportunity for Mr Watkins and his fellow director Andy Cunningham to enjoy the presence of an extra pair of hands in their offices in north Telford.
Norris has a control panel which allows the pair to remote control the robot's actions, he has tracking capabilities which allows him to watch movement around a room, and he can be programmed to sing or pull a few dance moves.
He can also put the frighteners on passersby by mimicking Arnold Schwartzenegger's opening lines from Terminator 2 – the pair have programmed him to say: "I need your clothes, your boots and your motorcycle."
"Being humanoid-style he is a bit more friendly than what you might typically think of a robot," Mr Watkins added.
"Some of the people we have introduced him to have been really fascinated with him.
"We have a conference at the NEC in October and they want him to introduce some of the events – going on, welcoming people as they arrive, as well as drawing people to our stand."
Mr Cunningham added: "He has a tracking feature that follows moving objects, so when you walk past him he turns and follows you – I'm looking at him now and he keeps blinking at me.
"The first week we had him there was a cloth over him and you'd forget he was there until you moved it, when you'd get the fright of your life."
"We don't need to give him a cup of tea or feed him though," Mr Watkins said. "There's no hotel bill for him either – we just keep him in boxes."
He added: "It's another piece of technology we have invested in to keep ahead of the game.
"We got in with drones before most people knew what they were. This is another way to keep ahead of the technology."
