This is my new friend Keepon; he has many of the qualities I look for, including great taste in music (seen above dancing to Spoon's "I Turn My Camera On") and the bravado to dance in public.

This positively hypnotic robot was created by Marek Michalowski and Hideki Kozima, two researchers currently developing and studying dance-oriented nonverbal play with between children and the robot. Their long-term goal is to develop robots with the sensitivity to synchronize their behavior with human emotions and responses, and thus facilitate comfortable robot/human interactions. For the time being, though, it's just fun to look at.

By virtue of its two eye cameras and a nose-mounted microphone, Keepon can "perform emotional and attentional interaction with children"--that is to say, "bust a move" to any music you choose.

As far as everyday applications for the rest of us: They don't go far beyond wasting away time watching Keepon's small, snowman-like body bop to the beat. And that just might be enough.

Did I sit in my cubicle giggling through the entire three -minute song, you ask? Yes, yes I did.

Post by Corinne Iozzio

Via Digg.