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Dancing With A Smart Robot

Posted by timothy on from the your-electronic-companion dept.

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."

11 of 170 comments (clear)

  1. Great! by Hi_2k · · Score: 5, Funny

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

    --
    When life gives you crap, Make Crapade.
    Sluggy Freelance.
  2. A mobile female robot + slashdot? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

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

  3. Not quite there yet... by IICV · · Score: 5, Funny

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

    1. Re:Not quite there yet... by Joe+Tie. · · Score: 5, Funny

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

      --
      Everything will be taken away from you.
  4. Inquiring minds want to know by KU_Fletch · · Score: 5, Funny

    /me patiently awaits the DDR playing robot.

    --
    It's not stupid. It's advanced.
  5. Dance of death by PeteyG · · Score: 5, Funny

    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

    --
    no thanks
  6. What does it do by Timesprout · · Score: 5, Funny

    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 ?

    --
    Do not try to read the dupe, thats impossible. Instead, only try to realize the truth
    What truth?
    There is no dupe
    1. Re:What does it do by jtheory · · Score: 4, Funny

      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.

      --
      There are only 10 types of people: those who understand decimal, those who don't, and, uh, 8 other types I forget.
  7. One server that will definitely survive /. by aliens · · Score: 4, Funny

    [Warning: it takes a while for loading]

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

    --
    -- taking over the world, we are.
  8. MS DanceR by Dag+Maggot · · Score: 4, Funny

    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*"

    --

    I have no pants and I must scream

  9. This BETTER be able to dance the robot by iamdrscience · · Score: 4, Funny

    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...