While these robotic creatures don't have such lofty goals as
colonizing the moon or
caring for the elderly, there's nothing wrong with teaching a new 'bot old tricks, especially when it can turn around and teach actual humans how to bust a move. In the latest episode of Japanese robotics completely
outshining the rest of the world's attempts, a group of children (and a few parents) gathered around a "wa" -- better understood as a dancing robot all dressed up for the occasion -- to bring out a gyrating side they never knew possible. The 35-centimeter tall dancing machine reportedly sports a face, arms, legs, and most of the phalanges you'd expect to see, as well as "joints" throughout the frame to give it lifelike abilities while breaking it down. While we're not exactly sure how this little guy (or girl) was programmed, nor if it would make a suitable practice partner for the vertically challenged, the possibilities here are limited only by our imagination (and its battery life). It seems that we're getting ever closer to relying on robots to convey meaningful information to other humans autonomously, and while learning how to get down on the dance floor from something that needs to be
routinely oiled may seem a bit, um, unnatural, we hear the wa does an excellent job at holding back the laughter when you take a spill (and doesn't charge by the hour, either).
[Via
Digital World Tokyo]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Steven Scott @ Aug 18th 2006 2:59AM
Aren't these the same 'bots in the Beck video??? Awesome.
bermuDa @ Aug 18th 2006 2:59AM
looks more like radio taisou than dancing... Now what they need is a miniature robotic Papaya Suzuki.
Remington @ Aug 18th 2006 3:00AM
I bet that robot would look cool wearing one of these shirts www.teefreak.com
iamdigitalman @ Aug 18th 2006 3:04AM
I, for one, welcome our oily Japanese robotic overloards.
Pietro @ Aug 18th 2006 3:16AM
"I, for one, welcome our oily Japanese robotic overloards."
stupid
Supra @ Aug 18th 2006 6:34AM
Japanese people are pretty hilarious
22samurai @ Aug 18th 2006 6:42AM
This "article" is simply an analysis of a single photo, with assumptions and guesses about the nature of the robot pictured, peppered with links to other Japanese robot stories to give it some journalistic truthiness. Case in point: the writer of the article fails to name the company that created this robot, and neglects to provide a single website documenting the robot pictured.
Tim @ Aug 18th 2006 7:43AM
22samurai, you're not supposed to notice those things! OK, these yukata-clad machines are actually called Wa-bots (first syllable is the Chinese character for "harmony"), and the event was organized by a Tokyo-based NPO called Wa no Method. URL: http://www.wa-method.org/ This Wa-bot is teaching the kids a "kyogen" dance, a form of traditional Japanese comic drama. I've seen these yukata-clad bots at various robot events in Japan. The way they dance to folk songs in unison is pretty cute. The NPO's aim is to get young Japanese interested in traditional culture via robots. Centuries-old art forms, of course, are only sexy when robotized.
Larry Tweed @ Aug 18th 2006 12:55PM
There is a Japanese Robot Revolution silently underway... The silence is by choice, but the choice has been made by those who are aware. I am fascinated and frightened as I witness a new age dawning. Those who laugh today will blush tomorrow.
Lawrence Edwin Tweed III
Futurist
Moralist
Lover
Philosopher
Chris @ Aug 18th 2006 4:00PM
CAN YOU DIG IT?!?!?!
...anyone?
22samurai @ Aug 25th 2006 7:50AM
Tim, Thanks for the real scoop on this article. It was much more informative and less sensationalized. I lived in Japan for two years, and saw these kinds of robots in action on TV numerous times. The "Wa-bots" name is very cute and very Japanese. Living in 'inaka,' I saw this tension between ancient culture and new technology almost daily. Thanks for the response!