Hank the Ford Robot..

Seems pretty smart... for a human talking on the mic.

GEEKOLOGIE

"
Hank the robot has State Fair auto show crowds laughing, wondering

09:06 AM CDT on Thursday, October 16, 2008

By JESSICA MEYERS / The Dallas Morning News
jmeyers@dallasnews.com

Hank woos women, mocks Toyota and busts out "the robot" on cue.
TIM GRUBER
TIM GRUBER/DMN
Ford's Hank the Robot is shown at the State Fair of Texas Auto Show in Dallas. The Auto Show is one of the fair's most popular attractions, drawing 85 percent of total attendance.
View larger More photos Photo store

In fact, he is a robot – Ford Motor Co.'s "Ambassador of Innovation," who quips as much as he advertises. He's a hit at the State Fair, where he bewilders fairgoers daily at the car show.

"Why do my fingers look like this?" Henry Ford's namesake asked in response to a question from the growing crowd about the questionable shape of his right hand. "More than likely, it's some hoodlum who reached up here and did that to my middle finger. And now we're going to have to explain how expensive Ford is when it's because your brat came to the auto show and broke my finger."

An audience of about 50 guffawed and smirked for the rest of Hank's half-hour riff earlier this week. He performs on the half hour, and responds to most questions thrown at him, which range from his dancing abilities to his career choice. He shrugs off a couple – such as how he actually works – and adds Ford promos every couple of minutes.

"I think it's cute, but there's somebody in the back, obviously," said 36-year-old Suerri Dugan from Abbott after she watched his show. She pointed to a small camera on Hank's forehead.
Also Online

Tavian Bartholomew did some of his own fact-checking. "I went behind the curtain and there's nobody back there," said the 10-year old from Crowley. "It's cool. Can I have one?"

Ford representatives refuse to ruin the fantasy, even for many employees.

"It's kind of a corporate secret," said Darwin Kloster, who has worked with Ford for the past three years.

Even Hank had little to say when he saw a reporter approach with notebook in hand.

"There goes everything," he said. "Tomorrow there will be a story in the news that a mean robot flips up the middle finger at the State Fair."
"