YouTube’s robot meltdown: videos galore!

The current swarm of automatons, androids and robots may be due to the impending arrival of Disney’s Wall-E movie, but these past months have seen major breakthroughs in all aspects of robotics. Now YouTube has cottoned on, with a one-day film festival devoted to all things robot-shaped!

YouTube’s devoting today’s “Trendspotting Tuesday” event to the robotic creations uploaded by its users, as well as some by the more professional robot makers.

There are some bonkers ones, some brilliant ones, and quite a few that we couldn’t think of a description for. Our favourite three, in no particular order are :

Cleverness from a corporate

We love Honda’s Asimo robot, climbing stairs, running, conducting orchestras and directing traffic (surely the next stunt) but he’s a bit bulky (and with a whopping price tag too). Instead, we thought we’d point out Sony’s QRIO bots strutting their stuff. We especially love the bit at around 34 seconds, where one ‘bot seems to forget a move and take a cheeky peek at the other to get back into the synchronized swing.

Home made goodness

“Stop or I’ll squirt” - This blackened water boiler on wheels is designed to look menacing on the streets, chasing away criminals with the aid of a spotlight, video camera and a giant water pistol. In daylight, it looks less scary though. We reckon a gentle breeze would foil it… and don’t worry about it taking chase after you. As long as you can manage a brisk walk, you’ll out-trundle it in seconds.

Musical mechanoid madness

This is one of the strangest musical videos ever, but it’s jam packed with a cast of robotic characters, so we can’t fail to love it. There’s a catchy android-laden theme tune too, and a storyline you’ll struggle to follow. It’s worth trying though, since it’s a work of genius. The robot-loving makers of this clip have definitely been overdoing it on the four star.

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