University develops dancing robot that can follow lead

July 20, 2003 | Source: Japan Today

A team at Tohoku University has developed a robot that can follow a human dancer’s lead.

The robot can predict the dancer’s next move through hand pressure applied to its arms and back, and also judging from dance steps it is making, and can then turn at the appropriate speed. Equipped with a computer, sensors and batteries, it can move in any direction on four wheels and has memory for five steps necessary to dance the waltz.