It’s like Ex Machina but with Hatsune Miku…
Last week at the third annual RoboDEX robotics expo, which was held from January 17-19 in Shinjuku, visitors got to see a very peculiar sight: a life-size robot version of the virtual pop idol Hatsune Miku.
Created by a member of the Nihon University Department of Science and Engineering who goes by the pseudonym Missile, this human-sized robot version of Japan’s famous virtual pop idol, is the product of 10 years of hard work.
Check out robot Miku wave at her fans in the video below.
Throughout the body of this mecha Miku, you’ll find 50 servo motors. And as you can see in the video above, Missile, is able to operate his creation – right down to the individual fingers – thanks to motion capture technology.
The Miku on display is Missile’s second prototype. Exclusive to this new and improved version is the ability to put on VR goggles and see the world through Miku’s “eyes” (cameras are in the robot’s head). In other words, there’s probably more than a few hardcore Miku fans who would love to spend some alone time with Missile’s robot version of their beloved idol.
In addition to just waving her hands though, Missile’s robot, is also able to walk. Take a look at this amazing but oh so creepy feat in the video below.
However, Missile’s story doesn’t just end with Miku. Last year Missile used the Japanese crowdfunding website Campfire to try to fund his latest and most ambitious venture. Called the “Life-Size Beautiful Girl Robot Production Project,” the goal of this endeavor is to create a robot of a “beautiful girl” (bishōjo) that measures around 160 cm and is able to change its facial expressions, speak, sing, and walk. Thankfully for Missile, there appears to be a lot of people out there who want to see his dream become a reality because his campaign collect 3.6 million yen (about 33,000 USD), which is 19% more than the campaign’s posted goal.
Not surprisingly, this is far from the first time someone has tried to make it possible to interact with Miku. If you’re interested in checking out another example of this, then you should check out the link below.
Hatsune Miku Fan Uses Microsoft HoloLens To Go On AR Date With The Virtual Idol (Video)
Source: Robot Start
Image: 等身大「初音ミクロボット」 in 第2回ロボデックス
