Mahru the robot dances to mask its emotional insecurities

We've enjoyed watching KIST's Hubo do crazy things like wear the face of Albert Einstein and ride a Segway, but we haven't given as much attention to its brother Mahru. Feeling left out, the biped learned to dance with its upper body whilst walking around -- an impressive feat, considering it wasn't all that long ago that scientists first managed to get these things to take five steps without falling flat on their faces. Mahru also releases scents to express its artificial emotions, so you should be able to smell something fishy when it achieves sentience and begins angrily plotting to destroy its creators. Take a gander at a South Korean TV news report after the break.

[Speney G @ Oct 13th 2008 3:09PM]

Hubo doesn't dance. He just pulls up his pants....and does the rockaway

[Uchiha Sasuke @ Oct 13th 2008 4:42PM]

Funny you said that, in some asian language "HUBO" means naked.

[who cares @ Oct 13th 2008 3:09PM]

Can the girl in the movie respond to simple oral demands as well? (1:12)

[Uchiha Sasuke @ Oct 13th 2008 4:48PM]

Why don't you ask her yourself at "[e-mail]" or do you need a robot to do that for you?

[Das Boot @ Oct 13th 2008 3:09PM]

He's gonna kill us all one day.

[Johan S @ Oct 13th 2008 3:14PM]

Sorry ladies, he only does slow songs.

[TomTom2007 @ Oct 13th 2008 3:21PM]

2 dollar bill?! damn lucky.

[Shunnabunich @ Oct 13th 2008 3:23PM]

So we've gone from dancing robots to dancing, farting robots.

[bangladeshiluv @ Oct 13th 2008 3:23PM]

i'd hit it

[BJ is Gooder @ Oct 13th 2008 4:55PM]

I, for one, welcome our dancing, farting robot overlords.

[Asdf...g @ Oct 13th 2008 8:27PM]

I, for one, am tired of people being so welcoming.

[Rhinosaur @ Oct 13th 2008 3:33PM]

"Looking for me?!"

[Kyle @ Oct 13th 2008 3:41PM]

Johnny-5 is alive!

[Electromodo @ Oct 13th 2008 4:41PM]

Looks like many companies are actively investing into designing a household robot. This means that soon our market will be filled with them. Finally the dreams of 1950s science fiction writers come true. Finally!

[kal326 @ Oct 13th 2008 5:02PM]

How old is this video? At 2:22 they say they hope to have a robot by 2008 that can serve as a household servant. I also like how they said they have only spend $200,000 US on the project. That's pretty cheap for a walking, talking, robot.

[Austin @ Oct 13th 2008 11:20PM]

this video is from 2006, pretty old

[Orpheus @ Oct 13th 2008 7:27PM]

Haha I like the fishy joke...

[Artie Lange @ Oct 13th 2008 8:39PM]

If you put this thing on "Dancing with the Stars", it'd destroy the competition. I mean literally. It would crush their heads like a Nexus 6 on the run.

[Alex @ Oct 13th 2008 8:50PM]

uh, guys? This robot has already had 2 successors made, the Mahru II (2006) and Mahru III (2007). The one pictured is from 2005.

[solu @ Oct 13th 2008 9:19PM]

You can sell it as is now, doesn't mean it's good for anything. Their goal should be something like: robot to be useful and not a novelty within 10 years.

[lou @ Oct 13th 2008 9:48PM]

Asimo would kick this robots butt!

[mase @ Oct 13th 2008 11:19PM]

Just not if it involves stairs.

[nZLE @ Oct 13th 2008 10:28PM]

Hey, Engadget, HUBO is developed by KAIST(Korean Advanced Institute of Science and Technology) not KIST(Korean Institute of Science and Technology). Those two are not the same. To summarize, HUBO->KAIST, Mahru->KIST.

[j.pickens @ Oct 14th 2008 12:53AM]

I dunno.
When the reporter chick turns her back on the robot to face the camera, I get a bad feeling about what the robot might do.

[Twitchy @ Oct 14th 2008 5:11AM]

Call me when he does the 'Running Man'.