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This video was recorded during the 6th ROBO-ONE GATE IN INTERNATIONAL ROBOT EXHIBITION 2009 Dance Competition, whatever THAT is. The robots have their own dance competitions now? Barack Obama is like, “watch yourself, robots.” The thing that I take away from this robot’s performance is that we are going to need to revisit the “uncanny valley.” I know that as robots become more and more human-like they produce a feeling of revulsion in human observers, but what if the robot becomes SO lifelike that you can’t even tell it’s a robot anymore? Would you care to dance with me, pretty beautiful normal lady? You are such a good and fluid dancer who dances like all the other normal women here. (That is how I talk to human beings!)
(Via Geekologie.)
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Needs more pumpkin.
I like how she waves her hands in the air, like she just doesn’t care. Because she really doesn’t care. Because she doesn’t have a BRAIN.
On the one hand, they designed that robot and programmed its dance moves. On the other hand, they felt to dressed it up as a school girl. I am at least thankful that technology has not yet advanced to the point where they were able to design a tentacled monster to molest the dancing robot.
You all may laugh at robo-dance competitions NOW, but they are just preparing for when Skynet becomes self-aware. We’ll all be robo-boogied to DEATH!
Not to be all CulturalAnthropologyGum, but human-like robots typically only cause feelings of revulsion in American/European observers. Asian societies, Japan in particular, are very comfortable around human-style ‘bots. Check out last week’s Vanguard episode (on Hulu) for an in-depth look at Japan’s robot culture.
I am uncomfortable with her holding-in-the-poop move (several times but right at the beginning), the way she was hoisted off the stage and lastly her footwear: Lavender crocs? with the red? You need to have a serious talk with the man who dressed you, sweetheart.
And not to be all CulturallyInsensitiveAnthro-Apology Gum but really Japan, really? Obviously American’s want to see gay computer generated elf sex, but you guys…i dunno. I just don?t know.
You watch Current TV? Like Al Gore’s thing? I thought that was one of those channels that no one actually watched, they just sort of mentioned it in passing, like Pax. God I miss Pax. Please come back, Pax. I miss making jokes about your old people programming.
HOW BORED ARE YOU PEOPLE OVER THERE?!?
The outfit could be sexier.
is everything in Japan a fetish?
I am always comforted by the fact that no matter how advanced technology gets, androids remain pretty terrible. Whenever they try and make technology act like a human it’s usually pretty bad. The best technology is just technology, a computer contains information but they don’t bother making it look like a brain (Although Apple might). I mean, by the 50′s they’d invented electronic devices that could do maths far better than me. Yet we’re coming to the end of the noughties and this humanoid is only a slightly better dancer than me.
i wouldnt mind dancing with a robot. as long as it doesn’t try to press its chubby into me while we’re dancing.
no, i think that’s just part of it’s programming.
I’m ashamed to say that I would totally loose a dance competition with robots as my competitors (or actual human beings…).
more lifelike than tom delay.
Meh, I seen stronger performances at my local chuck E cheese.
Thankfully, Keepon remains the best dancing Robot. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3g-yrjh58ms It’s all in the hips.
She looks sad. Do you think they’re making her dance for them?
I think that robot has Polio.
Please to make a robot Techno Viking next.
If they had applied their efforts elsewhere, we could have had spaceships awkwardly dancing through the far reaches of our universe by now.
That dude who “married” his favorite Love Plus character is all like, “I want an annulment, stat.”
Why can’t robots just stick to doing the robot? Domo arigato Japan, but no domo arigato.
I watched this while listening to that new Hot Chip song (that’s right, I browse Stereogum and Videogum at the same time), and it made this video as a whole a lot better.
For being a robot, that robot sure is terrible at doing the robot.
That’s some solid throw-up fodder right there.
Also, how is it that every contemporary piece of Japanese music sounds like Disney glitter farts? Is that a law over there or something?
There’s something that really charms me about the scientist-lady standing quietly behind a wildly dancing robot, holding her clipboard and smiling apologetically.
That just leaped over the uncanny valley and into my heart.