Robot Hall of Fame hits another rough patch

Every two years, the Robot Hall of Fame chooses a new class of inductees. And as with recent induction years, the virtual hall of fame is having trouble getting its act together.
I recently corresponded via email with Shirley Saldamarco, a faculty member with the Carnegie Mellon University Entertainment Technology Center, who is involved with the Robot Hall of Fame.
“To paraphrase our past president, here we go again,” she said on Aug. 22. “Although the RHoF is still around, we are struggling.”
This year’s class of inductees is in a “holding pattern” because of finances and a leadership change at the CMU School of Computer Science, which created and oversees the Robot Hall of Fame, she said.
“I feel cautiously optimistic that we will continue,” Saldamarco said.
It’s a shame that the Robot Hall of Fame doesn’t get more corporate sponsorship. It’s a great way to honor robots from science and industry that have helped mankind and fictional robots that have inspired future engineers and scientists.

Photos: 
iRobot’s PackBot military robot, inducted into the Robot Hall of Fame in 2012 (top); 
Robby the Robot from the 1956 sci-fi movie “Forbidden Planet” and as seen at the Roboworld exhibit at the Carnegie Science Center in Pittsburgh, inducted in 2004. 

Resources: 

Robot Hall of Fame page on Wikipedia.

Robot Hall of Fame page at Carnegie Mellon University.