A squirrel as an answering machine

the cellular squirrel (used without prior permission)

The Althouse blog mentioned an interesting research project about using a robotic squirrel as a cell phone agent. It is incredibly cute and has lots of features too. Instead of ringing, the cellular squirrel uses less intrusive visual signals to inform you of incoming calls. It is an answering machine: it intercepts voice calls, communicates with with caller and identifies if the call will be relevent through keywords found on different channels. It knows if you are having a meeting, when it will sit still and not interrupt you. More technical information about the project can be found on Stefan Marti's research projects.