Asimo learns to sing and dance, but has yet to learn how to love
By Joseph L. Flatley 
posted January 25th 2010 2:06PM
posted January 25th 2010 2:06PM
From parade appearances to his most recent star turn at Sundance, it looks like Asimo's re-invention as a song-and-dance man continues unabated. Most recently, those crazy intellectual property lawyers-cum-bloggers at Stamoulis & Weinblatt, LLC have hepped us to a patent app in Honda's name that describes a robot that can not only pick up a beat and dance along, but recognize the tune and sing its lyrics as well. The latter is accomplished by a wide array of techno-stuff, including a "sound collecting unit," a "voice signal generating unit" capable of both scat singing and singing singing, a "self-vocalized voice regulating unit," and more. As far as the dancing goes, the application implies that it has something to do with a "beat interval estimating unit" and a "beat time reliability calculating unit," although we like to believe that the automaton learned to dance the way grandpa did -- from Arthur Murray on West 57th Street in Manhattan.
I like the Velcro face upgrade myself
@Eugene Action
still needs a monocle before its complete.
@vlad the inhaler thats what the Velcro is for... just stick anything you want on there... LOL
@vlad the inhaler Nah, Michigan J Frog got away without one. I would expect it to go a little something like this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4HAjhtPZGDY
@vlad the inhaler "Maybe you don't understand just how rich he is. In fact, I think I'd better put on a monocle."
"cum-bloggers"??
I thought this was a family friendly site!
@(Unverified) puh-leeze....
@(Unverified)
Laywers-cum-bloggers
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cum
--along with being : and —used to form usually hyphenated phrases
Neglect Asimo for more than 3 consecutive days and he WILL kill you with that cane.
No, really, there's a big warning label on the box. Just be careful.
If it's half as good at dancing as it is falling down flights of stairs, I'm sold!
Call me when it can perform "Puttin on the Ritz" as well as the monster in Young Frankenstein.
@glennS
PUTTIN' ON THE RITZ!
It's only a matter of time before someone attempts to teach it how to love. Probably with disastrous results.
Unless we can give rise to a self aware digital machine with consciousness, then I sincerely doubt that any robots will be able to do anything other than simulate care,affection, concern, sympathy, empathy or love. I sincerely hope we are able to give rise to a digital consciousness, especially if doing so will help humanity to understand how the human mind and our consciousness and self awareness works.
that's cool you take a great step in robotics and turn it into Barbra Streisand.
Hey I have the same hat
"Hello, my baby
Hello, my honey
Hello, my ragtime gal..."
@cjdunn "ragtime"; watch out for the emotional swings.....
@cjdunn "Come with me....and you'll be.....in a WOOOORLD of PURE IMAGINAAAATIOOON."
Could be useful at the London 2012 opening ceremony?
So Honda is patenting dancing robots. Monopoly.
After much ridicule. I'm looking forward to Asimo's revenge.
Asimo, a robot of Great Expectations
Thumbs up for the title.
Am I the only one that sees a lego minifig in that? I like it