Well, maybe the robot doesn’t dance exactly like Michael Jackson, but it certainly is pretty darn close and is definitely very cute. What’s more, it is aimed at inspiring kids.
This little guy is the brainchild of BQ, Spain’s second largest smartphone manufacturer. The company produces quite a selection of mid-range smartphones, ebook readers, and tablets, but now it seems they are getting a little more diverse.
The company’s CEO, Alberto Mendez, says it is not just about teaching a robot to dance like Michael Jackson. Mendez is keen to inspire kids to become the next generation of engineers, so he came up with the idea of a robot kit, especially for said kids.
According to Think Big , for just under $100, the kits include several electronic components and actually give the budding engineers the chance to build robots to their own design.
Watch This Robot Dance Like Michael Jackson: You may not have heard of BQ, but the Spanish company is the seco… http://t.co/fwXqEiZKLm
— Mladen Malik (@BarbaR_ZD) March 6, 2015
The programming side of things is via a drag and drop interface on the desktop. There is even the ability to design and 3D print additional elements to fit on to the robots for more originality.
Digital Trends notes that what is great is that everything related to the project is based on open source software and hardware , and Mendez hopes this will encourage kids to get involved in not only design and programming, but also in mechanical engineering.
He reckons this is a great way to get the kids involved and is a lot more fun than the normal, everyday traditional classroom situation.
According to Mendez, the kits will be available in the shops within around two to three months and will cost somewhere between $90 and $100. However, on searching the BQ site, it seems they are already available in their online shop.
In the meantime, we can see the results in the video at the top of this article, as the cute little blue guy does his impersonation of the King of Pop, Michael Jackson.
Some of the comments on the YouTube video are quite amusing, including the guy who said, “If it can’t grab it’s crotch, then it ain’t dancing like Michael Jackson.”
Another says, “It’s official, now even robots can dance better than me.”
Okay, so maybe he isn’t the most supple robot, but he is still fascinating to watch.
Talking Michael Jackson himself, the Inquisitr noted recently that elaborate lithographic prints of the lyrics to “ Billie Jean ” are available for purchase by keen collectors.
[Image: Screengrab from YouTube video ]