Renting A Robot Not Just Science-Fiction Thanks To Tulsa Businessman

Renting a robot sounds like more science-fiction than reality, but one local businessman is doing just that.

The robot’s name is Joppa Robot Thespian, and Charlie Cohlmia can program it just for you.

The whole thing started with Cohlmia’s fascination with automata.

Many of the ones he has were handcrafted by a man in Cornwall, England. Well he had a friend who had a robot, Cohlmia and his wife, Liz, saw it and it was love at first sight.

6/6/2016 Related Story: Meet Joppa, A Tulsa Robot You Can Rent

"We looked each other in the eyes and said we gotta have one of these," he said.

They ordered it in November and it arrived in March.

Cohlmia said, "We're number five in the U.S."

The others are at research facilities and universities, but theirs is just for fun.

"This is strictly for entertainment,” Cohlmia said. “And there isn't anything like this around that anyone's aware of."

Cohlmia introduced Joppa at a business executives' luncheon last week, and they loved him.

You can create what Joppa is gonna say on a computer, then create the animation for the head, arms and hands.

The robot can speak about 100 different languages, and can even sing.

So, if you’re interested in renting the robot, you can find more information here.