February 19, 2007

More Dancing Robots Along with Animated Hip-Hop Dancers

While I'm on the topic of robotic dancers (see previous post about Australian Dance Theatre's "Devolution), here are two videos of robotic dancers and one of an animated dance sequence.

I don't know what would be considered "state-of-the-art" as far as applying movement to robots and animated dancers, but I find it intriguing to watch this clips.

A traditional Japanese dance. Learn more about the robotic dancer HRP-2 from the Humanoid Robotics Project.

The same robot in action performing what appears to be similar or same Japanese dance. Plus you'll find additional video footage from the robotic lab. (Narration in Japanese).

Animated video of "Martian hip-hop." I found the description of how this dance sequence was created confusing. If you know more about how this hip-hop video was created, please let me know. The creator froggy42 has uploaded additional animated dance videos - I'll email him to find out more.

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April 6, 2006

RunBot Has Uncanny Ability to Replicate Human Movement

Despite my enthusiasm for technology, I just watched a video clip (MPEG) of "RunBot," which I found eerie. For its size (30 centimeters), RunBot is the fastest walking computer ever created.

This robot, according to a New Scientist story, "is controlled by a simple program that mimics the way neurons control reflexes in humans and other animals." It's this partial replication of life-like movement that struck me as I was watching the video.

You can watch an additional RunBot video on the We Make Money Not Art blog where I first came across this story.

How good can computers actually get at replicating human movement? Will they dance one day with grace and dexterity? Is this threatening to dancers?

Here are three screen shots from the RunBot video clip:

RunBot initiates step

RunBot has large gait

RunBot falls flat on its face!

Technorati Tags: robot, technology

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March 15, 2006

Robots Take to the Dance Floor - Part II

Transformer robot takes its first dance steps (via Gizmos for Geeks).

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Robots Take to the Dance Floor - Part I

Robots don't want to be left out of the dance action. Watch Sony Robot Dance (via Gizmos for Geeks). This is one fascinating video.

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March 3, 2006

Devolution - Robots and Humans Share the Stage

Australian Dance Theatre (ADT) is premiering today its newest work, "Devolution," at the Adelaide Arts Festival in Sydney, Australia. Artistic Director Garry Stewart collaborated with machine designer Louis-Philippe Demers to create a performance that puts dancers and robots on the same stage on an equal footing.

I wish I could find some good pictures of what these dancing robots look like. Short of that, here are some articles and interviews about the performance:

- Interview in RealTime with Garry Stewart about his thoughts on dance and robotics

- "Closing the Gap Between Man and Machine," in The Age

- "Danger! Machines in motion," in Thee Advertiser

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November 18, 2005

Advertisers Embrace Dancing

Here are two fun advertisements that feature dancing characters - one a dancing Doughboy and the other a dancing Citroen:

I came across the Pillsbury Dancin' Doughboy on Leigh Witchel's dance blog.

The Dancin' Doughboy is a Flash animation that allows you to create your own dance routine by selecting moves and choosing your song. As Rachel Feinerman from Downtown Dancer says in comment to Leigh's post this Flash application is similar to The Ellen Degeneres Dance Maker. But unfortuneatly, it doesn't seem like this Dance Maker game is still available. Here's the post I wrote about it in October: "Bust A Move with Ellen Degeneres".

The second dancing ad is for the Citroen C4. This is also a Flash animation that features a video of a Citroen C4 transformed into a robotic dancer. The dancer deserves credit for a solid stretching regime before initiating its dance routine. It's fun to watch. (To watch ad click link on bottom left that reads "See the TV Ad")

The following screen shot from Citroen ad is from Car Pages.

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