Simone Giertz, inventor of deliberately shitty robots and machines, is at it again with an Applause Machine that was designed to prevent your hands from getting tired—you know, from too much clapping.This machine is the latest in a series of brilliantly terrible inventions Giertz has made. There was the robot that feeds you breakfast (Giertz ends up getting sprayed with milk), the lipstick robot (a chunk of lipstick ends up in her hair), and a (somewhat nightmarish) tooth-brushing machine.Using some kitchen tongs, a spring, an Arduino, and two fake plastic hands that look incredibly weathered and creepy, the clapping machine automates applause on your behalf. Well, sort of. The motor makes so much noise that it obscures any sound resembling applause, and the plastic hands frequently fly off the tongs altogether.In this video, Giertz talks about the process of creating the applause machine, explaining that she got the idea when she was at a conference and had to applaud so much that her "poor developer hands" began to hurt. "So I thought, there must be a better way," says Giertz. "Finding a better way is all I do. You're welcome, world."
Giertz is very funny and likeable, and the shots of her nonchalantly going about her business while her robots make a mess of themselves are hilarious. If the latest development from Boston Dynamics has you freaking out about our imminent domination by robots, this might make you feel a bit better. We're still on top, for now.