There are robots from media we wish were real, like a Gundam or Bender from Futurama. Those robots would at least make our lives more entertaining. However, one robot we really don't want coming to life is the horrifying HAL 9000, the villain of 2001: A Space Odyssey that made everyone scared of AI.
Despite this, one insane fan thought that HAL 9000 would be a perfect home assistant, despite it being a contender for cinema’s scariest villain. Why someone would want to be woken up by that creepy voice is beyond us, but we’re not going to judge.
HAL 9000 home assistant
Who on Earth would turn HAL 9000 into a home assistant? Well, via Hackaday, Jürgen Pabel is that mad fan, one that desperately wanted the AI as a fun home assistant.
Using a Raspberry Pi Zero 2, Pabel attached his virtual assistant to a 1.28″ round TFT display, replicating HAL’s creepy glowing eye. Finally, there’s a speaker, completing the horrifying experience of having this thing as a home assistant.
On the surface, hearing the emotionless voice of HAL 9000 won’t bother anyone who isn’t familiar with the movie. It’s mostly those that have seen 2001 who will be disturbed and that, unfortunately, includes millions of people.
With this in mind, we won’t be ordering this anytime soon. However, we won’t blame anyone who will. Well, not too much anyways.
More HAL 9000 assistants
As if one replica of the HAL 9000 wasn’t bad enough, it turns out this wasn’t even the first one. Ben Brooks was able to build one consisting of 3D printed assembly, making this version of the House Assistant look as close to the movie version as possible.
Jokes aside, it is fun seeing all of these movie fans use their wits to recreate one of the scariest movie AIs in cinema history. This goes to show that 2001: A Space Odyssey will continue to amaze fans no matter what era, making it a true cinematic masterpiece.