The Shadow Caddy robot is a remarkably simple technological answer to hauling your golf stuff for eighteen holes.
The Shadow Caddy is operated using a transmitter; once you start it up, the robot will follow you as long as you have the transmitter on your person.
Shadow Caddy has an infra-red collision-avoidance system to keep from running into you or other golfers. Apparently, it can also avoid such unfortunate mishaps as falling into a water hazard or sand trap. Take a look at the Shadow Caddy video below, and judge for yourself.
(Shadow Caddy video)
Human caddies had better watch out; the Shadow Caddy is "guaranteed never to snigger if you three-putt or slice one out of bounds." Sometimes the lack of a feature is best; the robot has no speech capabilities at all.
Regular Technovelgy readers will no doubt anticipate that I will compare this simple little robot to the autoporter from John Brunner's 1975 novel Shockwave Rider.
Just look at all of the devices that are trying to do what this little Shadow Caddy robot does, but tack on endless other (mostly unnecessary) features.
I was also thinking that you could invent a golf bag that was also a similarly autonomous robot; see these powered bags for walking through airports for inspiration:
Tactile Skin Supplier Map
'What strange sensitivity! What an amazing development of science was manifested in every move and act and word of this Robot!' - Ray Cummings, 1931.
DIY Robot Scorpion Crushes It
'...it raised its front end off the ground and waved its antennae at them, then raised one armoured claw as if to snip them out of the sky.' - Neal Asher, 2008.
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Tactile Skin Supplier Map
'What strange sensitivity! What an amazing development of science was manifested in every move and act and word of this Robot!'
Orb Nomad Zero-Emission Electric Aircraft
'That explains how it was so easy for me to remain motionless in midair or to perch on a flagpole in imitation of a giant bird, even in the windy city of Chicago.'
DIY Robot Scorpion Crushes It
'...it raised its front end off the ground and waved its antennae at them, then raised one armoured claw as if to snip them out of the sky.'