I was sitting in my room today when my neighbor across the hall from me hollers at me to come over and see this. I quickly went to his room and he was pointing to his computer, asking me to watch this video:
I was like WHOA! That was probably one of the coolest things I have seen in a while. It is a robot called Keepon that moves to whatever rhythm is present. It is a little robot with yellow soft rubber skin, its two eyes are cameras and its mouth is really a microphone. This little fellow is allowed 4 degrees of movement (turns +/-180 degrees, nods +/-40 degrees, rocks side to side at +/-25 degrees, and bobs up and down up to 15mm.) For more info, go here.
Comments (1)
It's rare that a research/tech demo is presented with such style and aesthetic. Couple of things to note: Despite having a limited range of movement, the Keepon retains a greater sense of being organic than all of its other more mobile robot comrades. Look at the way his flexible outer body bestows upon him character.
Robots won't see widespread home usage without the proper image. This is a good direction to go in.
Also, awesome technology in general.
Posted by Pat Mulholland | December 14, 2007 2:09 PM
Posted on December 14, 2007 14:09