| New Record For Simultaneously Dancing Robots |
| Written by Lucy Black |
| Saturday, 26 May 2018 |
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The latest Guinness World Record for the largest number of robots dancing simultaneously was set on February 1st 2018 during the San Remo music festival in Rome when 1372 sub-knee-high robots were filmed for a TV show about a group of robots who are determined to learn to dance.
Guinness World Records adjudicator Lorenzo Veltri attended the shoot to make the record official, by ensuring all the machines were dancing at the same time and discounting any that fell during the attempt.
This particular Guiness world record appears to be a contest between Chinese robotics companies. The robots dancing here are Ubtech's Alpha 1S, a lightweight robot which is just under 40 cm (15.7 in) tall and made of aluminium alloy with a plastic coating and is extremely flexible with 16 degrees of freedom. Ubtech set the first ever record in this category in 2016 with 540 robots but this was quickly overtaken by Ever Win Company & Ltd, with a total of 1,007 robots, see One App For 1000+ Dancing Robots To Take World Record. Next to break the record, with 1069 "Dobi" robots was WL Intelligent Technology Co Ltd, see Even More Chinese Dancing Robots. The feat seems to be getting sufficient robots together at a single venue and Alpha 1S has been on quite a tour, having performed with Manchester City FC and made an appearance in the Transformers 5 Movie. The Alpha 1S model has now been superseded by the Alpha 1 Pro which has a new housing material that is more solid and durable and is used more extensively over the robot's chest and legs. Its upgraded servo motors are quieter and there's an improved speaker. The new battery is detachable and replaceable and the robot now has an emergency stop button. The emphasis is still on its range of humanoid movement - has 16 degrees of freedom (DOF), 5 degrees each for left and right leg, 3 each for left and right hands. The robot can perform multiple complex movements, such as push-ups, forward roll, backward roll, handstand, high leg kick etc. It can perform series of movements, such as tai chi, hip hop and other dances or just make it walk. Sensors include a 3 axis gyroscope and infrared sensor to ensure that it keeps balanced. It can rotate up to 180 degrees for maximum agility.
Although it is described as "intelligent" this is an exaggeration. There is no artificial intelligence. This robot is better described as a "digital marionette" and can be given a new repertoire via an app. This can be done using a using an app. Block-based graphic programming allows you to setup different moves or you can get it to remember moves by manipulating the arms and legs and saving them in the app as you go.
This robot has a very limited range of skills. It can dance with you or engage in martial arts, as suggested in this marketing image.
One problem with it is that having seen the Guiness World Record video, you wouldn't want just a single robot.
If you want a robot with a wider range of skills Ubtech's Lynx robot, which as we reported incorporates the Alexa Skills API to give the robot a voice and have it respond to spoken instructions, is now also available. Do people really want sub-knee high robots as companions? Personally, I'm waiting to see whether Sony's new aibo robot dog is as lovable as the original. More InformationRelated ArticlesEven More Chinese Dancing Robots One App For 1000+ Dancing Robots To Take World Record Robots As Dancers - The Nao Dance Troupe To be informed about new articles on I Programmer, sign up for our weekly newsletter, subscribe to the RSS feed and follow us on Twitter, Facebook or Linkedin. 
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| Last Updated ( Saturday, 26 May 2018 ) |
