Woman Sends Robot To Queue For Her iPhone 6s At Apple Store

The robot is now fourth in line outside the Apple Store, and Kelly says she hopes it will be able to purchase the iPhone on her behalf.

It’s not unheard of for people to pay stand-ins to hold their place in Apple Store launch queues, but why shell out cash when you can get a robot to do it for free? By leaving a robot to stand in line for her.

The robot is also named Lucy, and if you look close you’ll see an “Atomic 212” emblem at its base; yes, this social experiment is also meant to draw publicity for a media / marketing firm in Sydney.

Kelly told Mashable that her company uses such telepresence robots for various tasks, “just to show the technology”.

Kelly’s robot is now in line at the flagship Apple Store on George Street in Sydney, Australia.

While the Double Robotics Droid is strong enough to carry the iPhone 6s in a bag, it will still require a security escort.

The robot will wait for one night in a special tent that includes a charger to keep it alive and well. The display is the face of Lucy Kelly, who was sitting comfortably at her desk in a nearby office while her virtual self was waiting outside the Apple Store.

In the meantime, Lucy Kelly says she’s not seeing any resentment from fellow line-waiters. “They were happy to let a robot go ahead”. On the contrary, people are even taking photos with Lucy, and Atomic 212 posts them on its Facebook page.