The robots have arrived! Yesterday we celebrated the launch of HUBOT, job agency for people and robots at MediaMarkt, as part of the Dutch Design Week in Eindhoven. Our virtual office had opened a week before the physical launch, and the applicants were pouring in from all over the world. Now it was time to welcome job-seeking futurists to the offline opening of our office, this entailed drinks, jobs... and robots! 


Kicking off the event was HUBOT director Koert van Mensvoort, who introduced the project to the audience as no other human can. HUBOT presents 16 professions from the future, with its goal to inspire everybody, from all different levels of education, from young to old, including those who are currently excluded from the labor market.



HUBOT director Koert van Mensvoort in his opening speech


Preceding the event, NNN teamed up with Start Foundation and Gemeente Eindhoven and called upon creators around the world to design the worker tools from the future. We challenged the participants to conceptualize new employment opportunities for the labor market, and consider its feasibility in doing so.


During the opening event, a winner was chosen from five finalists (do note all five projects are showcased at HUBOT). NNN congratulates Roald Klumpenaar for his winning submission; the smart factory goggles. Klumpenaar received €10.000 to develop a working a working prototype of his creation. The jury said the smart goggles can serve a wide range of people in an innovative way and shows that, with a simple technological intervention, it’s possible to make a big difference.



The installment of the winning submission. Meet the Focussed Assembly Worker.


At HUBOT, people and robots work alongside each other. Looking to discuss future robotics? Have a talk with one of our human workers. Looking to do a jobtest? Then our robotic counterparts are for you. Introducing B24U and its sibling M24U, these autonomous creatures roam around the job agency to get your application going. Excited? Take the test from your home!



Meet the HUBOT team! Elle, Charlotte, M24U, Zarah and Julia


The first person to take the jobtest at HUBOT was alderman Staf Depla from the city council of Eindhoven. Turns out, Depla was meant to have a career as a supersmart handyman! "I'm not a handyman at all!" laughs Depla, "perhaps the more reasons to partner with a robot." Depla was happy with his job, and with that, our first customer was a happy one.



Alderman Staf Depla taking the jobtest


Then it was time for drinks, and for our visitors to take a jobtest of their own. Robot coach? Streetknitter? Organ designer? HUBOT knows what's best. "I'm a gaming farm director!" visitor Roos smiled. Another visitor noticed the exoskeleton's similarity to the one his character is wearing in the first person shooter videogame franchise Call of Duty.



Visitors taking a jobtest, with HUBOT employee Chloé guiding them.



NNN blogger Nadine van Roestenburg looking for a new job



This young enthusiast was struck by the organ designer



Taking a closer look at the augmented contact lens from the data waiter


And that's that! HUBOT has opened. It was our great pleasure to welcome so many enthusiast job-seekers last night, and many more to come! NNN wants to thank everybody who worked alongside the process of this production, we couldn't have done it without you. With some extra spotlight on our producer Tim, who went for the extra mile to make this happen.


Want to visit HUBOT? Our online office is opened 24/7. The offline office of HUBOT is opened daily from 21-29 October, between 10 am and 9 pm (for actual times, visit this page) at the MediaMarkt in Eindhoven. Entrance to the event is free. Are you ready for a challenging job? www.hubot.org

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