That would certainly be an important design consideration. The name stands for Rural Utility Botic Experimental Navigator. I am not sure what that means. However, the robot itself appears to be very cool. PC Alternatives, R.U.B.E.N. boasts a pentium motherboard, hard drive, sound card, ultrasonic sensors, a camera, and a 900 Mhz wireless network link.
Several servos allow the head to tilt and the eyes to actually follow moment.
The chassis itself was made from old PC cases. R.U.B.E.N. sports a slanted wheel design that I have seen used on very few robots. The design is worth checking out. Unfortunately, no statement is made as to why this design was chosen. I do not know what the benefit would be to slanting the wheels at such a steep angle.