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Shall we dance? Robots offer a hand on the ballroom floor

AFP News

Wednesday 8 June 2005, 12:56 pm
Keywords: News Articles , Round Dancing

Ballroom dancing is no longer just for the romantic. Japanese researchers have developed a robot capable of taking to the floor by predicting how its human partner will move.

The Partner Ballroom Dance Robot -- or PBDR in robot talk -- has a woman's face, a sensor around its waist and can move in all directions on its three wheels hidden underneath an evening gown.

As its partner takes steps, the robot analyzes his movements and figures out how to accompany him with its shoulders, elbows, waist and neck.

The robot is 165 centimeters (five feet, six inches) tall and weighs 100 kilograms (220 pounds), with a male version under development.

PBDR is actually one step in another direction altogether -- developing a robot that can care for the elderly. Good caregivers need, like PBDR, to be able to guess what the elderly want them to do using the limited information available.

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/afp/20050605/tc_afp/afplifestylejapan_0
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