This smartphone docking station just wants to dance all night long.
Shimi is the name of the one-foot tall dancing robot and smartphone dock designed by Georgia Tech’s Center for Music Technology. Just clap your hands to a beat you want to hear, and Shimi will find it, play that
track and boogie to the beat.
This smart robot also uses facial recognition technology via the
phone’s camera to track the listeners’ faces — so that it can position
its speakers in their direction.
“Shimi is designed to change the way that people enjoy and think
about their music,” Professor Gil Weinberg, director of Georgia Tech’s
Center for Music Technology and the robot’s creator, was quoted as
saying on the school’s website.
Attendees at the Google I/O conference in San Francisco got a sneak peek at the dancing robot Wednesday night.
Calling all app developers: Professor Weinberg hopes Shimi will inspire people to create apps to expand the bot’s capabilities.
Through the newly formed startup, Tovbot, Georgia Tech plans to
commercialize Shimi. This dancing robot could be available for the
holiday season in 2013.
How much would you pay to own a Shimi? Tell us in the comments.
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