Roll The Night Away
It helps people dance, but the 1.65-meter-tall machine developed at Tokhuro University has three wheels instead of two legs, limiting its assistance. However, it is the first known robot to do anything of the sort. It performed for the first time in Aichi, Japan, at World Expo 2005's 11-day Prototype Robot Exhibition which ran from June 9 to 19. Sixty-three robots were featured in the Morizo and Kiccoro Exhibition Center — including one that specialized as a caddy.
What use is a three-wheeled robot for dancing? The Partner Ballroom Dance Robot (PBDR for short) predicts its human partner's steps and reacts accordingly. So far it is "female," sporting a woman's face and wearing a ball gown. A male version is in development.
Professor Kazuhiro Kosuge mentioned that while it could match how a human partner's upper body moved, it could not actually dance.
Sources:
CNN.com, http://www.cnn.com/2005/TECH/06/07/robots.ballroom/index.html, 6/7/05
Expo 2005 Aichi, Japan, http://www-1.expo2005.or.jp/en/robot/robot_project_02.html