The robots are cutting in on our dance moves THE moonwalk sounds
like the kind of dance every young robot would dream of
performing. Soon it could be within their repertoire, thanks to
Sydney scientists who have programmed a group of humanoid robots
to dance - the agile automatons already have mastered hip-hop.
The leader of the project, Mary-Anne Williams, said the days of
rigid movements were over. Scientists now build robots with
highly controlled, fluid movements. ''We are trying to fine-tune
our motor control algorithms,'' said Professor Williams, the
director of the Innovation and Enterprise Research Laboratory at
the University of Technology. Hip-hop array ... Benjamin
Johnston with humanoid Nao robots at the University of
Technology, Sydney's social robotic studio. Photo: Ben Rushton
''It's all about having precise control over a robot's body. We
need to be able to do that better if we want to have robots in
our home. We don't want them bumping into things.'' But building
robots that dance was a huge