Swiss student’s robot becomes overnight hit

This train can ride forever, thanks to a robot created by a Swiss university student. (SRF/swissinfo.ch) 

As part of his bachelor’s degree project, Christian Schürch from the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts, had the idea of building a robot that would place almonds on chocolates. But he reprogrammed it so that it would build a toy train track instead. 

The robot’s work was posted on different platforms and became an online overnight sensation, with more than 11 million clicks on Reddit alone. 

Nobody is sure why the images became so popular. Is it the juxtaposition of the past, represented by the wooden toy, and the future, represented by the robot? But one thing is clear, Christian Schürch has probably boosted his chances of finding a job in robotics.