Rick and Morty's Butter Robot in Real Life
Adult Swim and Digital Dream Labs have teamed up to bring Rick and Morty fans a product with the sole purpose of passing butter.
If you’re a fan – or have even a passing familiarity – with the TV show Rick and Morty, you’ve likely heard of the Butter Robot, whose purpose is to pass butter. Possessing near-sentience, along with what appears to be an advanced vision system, actuated arms, and treads for locomotion, this “purpose” isn’t quite satisfying to the bot.
It is, however, quite a satisfying gag to the audience, many of whom would likely buy one if given the chance. But would people really buy one?
You don’t have to wonder if that's true anymore, as a real life Butter Robot is available for pre-order at an introductory price of only(?) $147. The device is set to deliver “as early as” May 15, 2021, and introductory pricing ends on November 30th.
Features include USB-C charging, text-to-voice capabilities, an emotion engine (allowing it to become more “self aware” over time), a mobile app, and perhaps most importantly, the ability to bring the stick to whoever says the phrase "pass the butter." The robot can be controlled directly, or be programmed using code blocks, opening up a variety of automated actions.
You can see an early prototype unboxed by Rick and Morty co-creator Justin Roiland in the first video below. While it doesn’t do a lot at this point, having Roiland actually in on the project lends it a lot of credibility, and it has the "look" down. Plus, if you scroll down to the bottom of the order page, you’ll notice Adult Swim and Digital Dream Labs (Cozmo) listed, so likely you'll have a working bot on your table next year!
And if you're wondering what a "Butter Robot" is...