If R2-D2 And C-3PO Had A Baby

The people at Penn's GRASP Lab, which recently brought you the opening pitch at the Phillies game, have outdone themselves again with PR2, a robot designed to carry out all your housekeeping needs.

Last summer, PR2 was successfully programmed by other teams to fold socks and grab beer from the fridge, as well as draw an accurate self-portrait (which is definitely a frequently encountered household chore).

This year, the Penn team decided to crack down and teach the robot something actually useful. PR2 has been successfully programmed to detect words and--get this--read them, too! We're not sure if the penngineering brainchild knows what it's saying, but if you wanna see PR2 in action like a 1st grader hacking away at a new Curious George book, check out the video here.