An Australian woman outsourced the tedious task of braving the weather and waiting in line at an Apple Store for an iPhone 6s to a robot named Lucy.
It's a known fact that whenever a new iPhone is set to hit the market, long lines form in front of Apple Stores as Apple fanboys wait patiently in queue to be among the first to get the latest iGadget.
The new iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus are all set to go on sale on Friday, Sept. 25, and people are already waiting in line at various Apple Stores worldwide. Australia will be among the first markets to get the new iPhone due to its time zone, but one woman prefers to cozy up indoors while still waiting in line for the latest iPhone 6s. How? By leaving a robot to stand in line for her.
Lucy Kelly from Sydney, Australia, is the marketing manager of media agency Atomic 212, which uses several telepresence robots. These gadgets basically consist of iPads on top of Segway-type devices, allowing a person to be virtually present without actually being physically present.
Kelly told Mashable that her company uses such telepresence robots for various tasks, "just to show the technology." The robot works with a special app that allows someone to connect from anywhere through the iPad, see the robot's surroundings through the iPad's camera and talk to others using the tablet's speakers and microphone.
Kelly's robot is now in line at the flagship Apple Store on George Street in Sydney, Australia. Named Lucy as well, the robot arrived there at 5 AM local time and has been standing in line since, waiting to get the latest iPhone 6s so Kelly doesn't have to brave the wind and the cold.
The robot will spend the night in line at the Apple Store, taking shelter in a special tent that's equipped with a charger to keep it up and running. Kelly plans to stay awake the whole time and serve as the robot's face and voice as Lucy stands in line, among numerous other Apple fans.
If everything goes according to plan, Lucy will be the first robot to stand in line and purchase an iPhone without any actual human interaction.
Other people standing in line are apparently intrigued and find the whole thing "pretty cool," so they don't mind letting a robot stand in line while its "boss" stays warm and cozy. On the contrary, people are even taking photos with Lucy, and Atomic 212 posts them on its Facebook page. For more coverage, head over to the media agency's website.
