Patent#US 6782308 also known as the Robot Performing Dance Along Music comes from Japan, a land where innovation is usually king. One says usually because although clever, the purpose of this thing is murky at best. This music information-reproducing unit reads a file and reproduces it so that a robot can recognize it and respond by performing a pre-determined movement pattern. One can only suppose that this might work well in dance studios where those learning to fox trot and tango may need some additional instruction and more patience than a human instructor can muster.
To accomodate all tastes in dancing partners, one can select the robot in either human or animal form and at a reasonable price (whatever that is). Both animal and human bots move in accordance with the specified movement pattern. Whether a robot that sings, juggles, and/or plays a musical instrument while dancing is next on the agenda, is anyone’s guess. The mechanized world of robots is a dynamic one and today they can do just about anything we humans instruct them to. Still would one expect dancing partners? More important, would Fred Astaire eat his heart out if confronted with one of these?
Robots are a source of inspiration to many modern inventors. Consider “Cook Robot” and
“Robot Camel Jockey Wins Invention Prize.”
As far as the Robot Performing Dance Along Music goes, I say whatever floats your boat, but for me personally, I’ll be patient and wait for Fred Astaire.
Via FreePatents
