Japan has an infatuation with robots; after all, you don’t see beautiful cyborg women hanging out in restaurants in the US or 24-fingered hair washing bots in the UK. That’s why we weren’t surprised at all to find that Japan has just produced a gang of cheerleading robots that dance in sync while balancing on a ball.
Officially called the “Murata Cheerleaders,” these balancing robots are the fourth generation of robots to be produced by the company. The bicycle-riding Murata Boy was first to come in 1991, followed by the second version of the Murata Boy in 2005, and the Murata Girl who learned to ride a unicycle in 2008.
▼ Murata Boy on the left and Murata Girl on the right.
The Murata Cheerleaders are also equipped with three gyro-sensors “to detect pitch, roll and yaw for 360-degree control.” Unlike Murata’s previous robots, the Murata Cheerleaders are equipped with group control technology, allowing them to perform synchronized moves.
▼ Here they are performing a dance routine, complete with color-changing pom poms and eyes.
Murata is hoping the group control technology used in their cheerleaders will be applied to transportation systems to help synchronize vehicle movements, alleviating traffic congestion and preventing accidents. “Using wireless communication technology, one of Murata’s strengths, we aim to support communication both between cars and between cars and communication information posts at intersections.”
Take a look at the Murata Cheerleaders in action here:
Leave it to Japan to turn something really cool and actually helpful in serious, real world applications into a kawaii cheerleader. Keep it up!
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