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Musical Robot A Big Hit In Japan (Video)

Not all of the humanoid robot builders want to create robots to battle it out in the ROBO-ONE ring. Some of them have a kinder, gentler, more artistic spirit. Their robot avatars would rather entertain the audience then try to beat up their competitor or push it over the edge of the table. The best example that immediately comes to mind is "MechaBonham", the tall, lanky, mop-topped robot that tickles the ivories and picks a mean guitar (see video below).

MechaBonham made the trek to Tokyo last weekend for the KHR-1 Second Anniversary celebration, as a part of the Robo-Fighters group from the Osaka area. Many of the robots in the Robo-Fighters group are top rank ROBO-ONE competitors that have a well earned reputation for power and competitiveness in the ring.

In contrast, MechaBonham is a very different, and at the same time very delightful, type of robot. When it comes time to fight, he prefers a tough game of "Rock, Paper, Scissors" or at least the Japanese version of the game. But, what he might lack in terms of pure strength or killer instinct is more than made up for by his musical abilities.

Based on the the classic Kondo KHR-1 humanoid robot design, Masumoto-san, the robots creator, has gone to great lengths to develop a unique personality and repertoire for MechaBonham.

As you might easily guess from the robot's name, Masumoto-san is definitely musically talented and a dedicated fan of Led Zeppelin. In addition to his work with MechaBonham, he has produced a number of great theme songs for several of the leading ROBO-ONE robots. He also produced the Robo-Fight theme song that you have probably heard in the background of many of our robot videos.

Here's a short video clip featuring MechaBonham at the piano, playing the guitar, and 'in concert':

Related links:

MechaBonham Official Website (Japanese)

Posted by Lem on June 15, 2006 | Permalink | Email this post

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