Dance Dance Baby

Tokyo-based ZMP Inc showed off a new version of their Miuro Robot last week. The milestone that defined this upgrade from the original Miuro is the implementation of the “Chaotic Itinerancy” software. Masterminded by Takashi Ikegami at Tokyo University, the “Chaotic Itinerancy” software emulates bees circulating flowers and hence enables the robot to move spontaneously instead of following preprogrammed patterns.

If this is the first time you are reading about the Miuro, here is what it can do: the robot carries an iPod inside of it, maneuvers through the house of obstacles, gets in front of you, and starts playing your favorite tunes. It then locks in the beat and rocks to it. The music can also be streamed from your computer over wireless. With the alarm clock feature, you can expect the Miuro walking into your bedroom in the morning, blasting the “Destination Calabria” really loud, and dashing out before you can press the snooze button.

Before you get all excited about owning one of these cool bots, consider its hefty $900 price tag. You will also have to make a friend in Japan first as it is not sold anywhere else yet. ZMP has shipped out over 500 units of the original Miuros. It is still unclear when the company will release the "Chaotic" enabled Miuro 2 to market.