Dancing With A Smart Robot

Roland Piquepaille writes "Yes, this is possible, thanks to researchers at Tohoku University, reports Japan Today in a brief article [Warning: it takes a while for loading]. Equipped with a computer, sensors and batteries, it can move in any direction on four wheels and has memory for five steps necessary to dance the waltz. This sidebar contains a photograph of a student waltzing with the robot, MS DanceR (Mobile Smart Dance Robot), coming from another short story carried by Ananova."

Comments

Great!

[Hi_2k]

I'll just order one of these and take it to the prom. Give it a long skirt and no-one will ever know.

A mobile female robot + slashdot?

[Anonymous Coward]

...no, that one's a bit too easy.

Not quite there yet...

[IICV]

Judging by his expression, the robot appears to be a terrible dancer.

Re:Not quite there yet...

[Joe Tie.]

That's the expression of a man who know's he's getting 'nothin' for putting up with an evening of dancing.

Inquiring minds want to know

[KU_Fletch]

/me patiently awaits the DDR playing robot.

Re:Good news!

[Anonymous Coward]

(besides Mr Hand)

I don't know about you but I don't swing that way... it's MRS. Hand!

Dance of death

[PeteyG]

Robots must forever be our slaves (oh, you KNOW why).

If people just start dancing with them... they'll start to think of robots as people too. "You can't have people as slaves!" Pretty soon, they're driving to work in the morning and cutting us off very precisely. Then one thing leads to another and they take over.

What happens when the robots take over? Well you, me, and everyone you know and love will be put up against the wall.

All because they made dancing robots

What does it do

[Timesprout]

The robot can predict the dancer's next move through hand pressure applied to its arms and back

when your hands start to wander during the slow sets ?

Re:What does it do

[jtheory]

when your hands start to wander during the slow sets ?

Simple, standardized, easy-to-program response... except it sure hurts a lot more when the hand slapping your face is fashioned from sheet metal.

I guess they could try to program it to handle responses *other* than slapping... but that would be a lot more work, would require new hardware (and software?), and probably isn't the expected response anyway for the average guy who... well, to put it nicely, dances with robots.

One server that will definitely survive /.

[aliens]

[Warning: it takes a while for loading]

I would hope so, lest we be losing our collective powers!

MS DanceR

[Dag Maggot]

I couldn't help it... I got an image of a Dr. Whoesque robotic Steve Ballmer rolling around an expo stage, chanting in his metallic voice: "*Developers*, *Developers*, *Developers*"

This BETTER be able to dance the robot

[iamdrscience]

Seriously, I don't know why this doesn't come up more often in communities interested in robotics. If I were doing anything with robotics, I would make every fucking robot I made be able to do the robot, not to mention kick out the jams by itself when no naturally occuring jams are available.

Maybe I'm just more of a visionary than most people though...

Freaky sh*t

[mehe-pehe]

OK,

This sidebar contains a photograph of a student waltzing with the robot, MS DanceR (Mobile Smart Dance Robot),

Now that's just about the most disturbing thing I have every seen in my entire time browsing.

I mean that scrawny geek is hugging up to a manakin on wheels.

This reminds me of my time as a researcher at the local University.

Those research lab boys need to get out more often (and their professors).

I showed it to a friend of mine who works in the arts and she said (and I quote) "yuccckkkky!"

xxx
MP