This 1: 1 replica HAL 9000 bluetooth speaker is completely finished
Pay attention, 2001: A Space Odyssey fans. There will be an officially licensed replica of the HAL 9000 from the film. Not only does it look extremely cool and it is also stylish, the replica can also be used as a bluetooth speaker. The creators of the replica have been given access to the studio model for the design, which is also used for the filming of the film and so it is a very nice-looking replica.
The basic version of HAL comes with a stand where you can use the elongated replica. HAL itself has the speaker at the bottom, the logo at the top and of course the ‘eye’ in the middle. Logically that lights up when the speaker gets power and so you can stream music via Bluetooth 4.0. The thing is even compatible with virtual assistants such as Cortana, Siri, Google Assistant and Amazon’s Alexa. The latter is even built in, so you can immediately link it to your Alexa app. You can order it via the Indiegogo campaign that the makers have set up. The standard version will be delivered from the end of this year, say the makers.
“Can you read me HAL?”
If you want the full HAL experience, you can also opt for the limited (2001 pieces, of course) wall bracket where the speaker can be placed. That console has functional buttons and a 10-inch screen where the same displays can be seen as in the film. Depending on which button you press, there is something else to see, in that typical old-school sci-fi style.
The icing on the cake, however, is the voice recognition that is built-in. It makes it possible to say certain sentences from the film to HAL, after which you get the response from the film. “HAL, open the pod bay doors” suddenly has a completely different dimension. Extremely cool, but as you might have feared, a replica of this quality is not cheap. The regular version already costs $ 500, but if you want the whole package you have at least $ 900 in it. Then you are so close to a real HAL 9000 if you can technically come, so for fans it is definitely worth it.