By Sarah Wood

The brains and skeleton of CSIRO and the National Museum of Australia’s museum robot are almost complete but what will it look like on the outside? Well, that could be up to you.

Researchers from our ICT Centre Autonomous Systems lab in Brisbane and their partners at the National Museum of Australia are looking for inspiration for the design of our museum robot’s body.

So far the nameless, body-less robot has a brain (thanks to our smart robotic technology) and a skeleton structure. We’re looking across Australia for designers, engineers, art and fashion students, robot enthusiasts and anybody who wants to design a robot body to help design and build the body of the robot.

If you’re the winner you’ll not only get the kudos of having your robot design selected and the opportunity to bring your design to life, you’ll also receive $500 and see your robot launched at the National Museum of Australia in October where it will give school students from afar guided tours of the Landmarks: People and Places Across Australia Gallery with the help of a real life museum guide.

So get thinking about a design the possibilities are endless! The robot could also look like a museum curator, a cubism sculpture, a mad scientist, or a bunyip, the only limits are imagination and the ability to build it.

While we’re not looking for a rehash of these designs, check out this Huffington Post article which looks at the 13 most famous robots, cyborgs and androids from film perhaps you’ll find some inspiration.

If you’re not so good at drawing (and I’m definitely not!) you could start thinking about a name for our museum robot. The naming competition will be opened to school students in October as the robot begins its trial with several schools across Australia connected to the NBN.

For more information about Museum Robot visit the CSIRO website HERE or the museum robot project page HERE where you can see a demonstration of the technology.

If you are interested in entering the museum robot design competition or know someone who might be the competition details and specs are HERE.

CSIRO news blog: A little bit of robot love