In a climactic scene of Braveheart, as the evil English prepare to execute him, Mel Gibson's character William Wallace, Scotland's founding father--think of a mash-up of George Washington and Adam Ant--cries out, "Freedom!"
Now, by sheer coincidence, a well-rested, crying-free baby named William Wallace is the new spokesmodel for Dream Technology Ltd, the Scottish company bringing the RobopaxÆ BabySitter automated cradle rocker to the world's nurseries in May 2005.
The BabySitter is designed to fit under most "prams, buggies, pushchairs, and carrycots," which it rocks back and forth at 66 bpm, "in harmony with a mother's heartbeat."
The Robopax has overcome the critical shortcoming that doomed earlier baby-rocking robots in the marketplace: they weren't actually robots. "The product is a worldwide first consumer product for the industry, as all other known baby rockers require to be manually operated." With this challenge behind them, Dream Technology Ltd plans to sell 20,000 BabySitters a month and has already announced plans for a crib-sized version. And in case you needed any MORE evidence of their plans for a global rocking empire...they have a weblog.
Pre-order a RobopaxÆ BabySitter £79.90, including VAT, EU delivery only [Robopax.com, via Engadget. Thanks, DT readers Cameron and Stephen for the heads up.]
Note: shipping is free if you also buy the RobopaxÆ CarryBag, "an impressive piece of luggage in its own right."
Previously from the UK: The Caring Cot - Pampers wants to replace you with a robot [DT]
