Miuro Robot Dances to iPod Music

By Michael Santo
Executive Editor, RealTechNews

This time when they say iPod they mean iPod, as the iPod locks into the robot (you know they frequently say iPod when they mean MP3 player in general). The robot pivots and rotates in time to the music, and the movements aren’t preprogrammed. Although it seems strictly for entertainment purposes, the hope is to eventually develop a robot that can move spontaneously.

Tokyo-based venture ZMP Inc.’s 14-inch long Miuro robot — which looks like a white ball wedged between two halves of an egg — wheels about in time with music from the iPod player that locks into the machine.

At a demonstration in Tokyo on Thursday, the 11-pound Miuro pivoted about on a stage in time to beats of a pop music track played through its speakers. The dance wasn’t preprogrammed, but generated by the robot itself. Source: Yahoo! News

We Say: This is actually a new version of the Miuro which had originally been released last August. This one includes an alarm clock, as well as an algorithm based on “chaotic itinerancy”, allowing it spontaneity. And although they do want to eventually extend this to other types of robots, they do want the Miuro to eventually become the ultimate virtual pet.