Murata Cheerleaders In The Flesh

[CEATEC 2014] It can be rather difficult to find someone who does not love robots, especially when one takes into consideration just how far modern day technology has come. Murata, while not exactly being a household name in Japan at this point in time, has drawn attention to itself in the past through clever attention grabbing robots such as the Unicycle Robot, saw the release of the Murata Cheerleaders at the end of last month. They have since made their way over to the CEATEC 2014 showfloor, performing at different time slots that are sure to wow the crowds.

The Murata Cheerleaders happen to be a pack of swarm robots, and they will all balance on their own “ball”, thanks to a gyroscopic sensor. Imagine a slew of miniaturized Segways performing a flash mob, and you get the idea. The gyroscopic sensor in the Murata Cheerleader will feature an inverted-pendulum control which will help it remain upright, although the demo sessions this week have not been exactly free from performance issues. In other words, the Murata Cheerleaders will still need some work on as a couple of these Cheerleaders seemed to have “misbehaved”, if you will. Still, it is something that is worth seeing. Will we be able to enjoy a robot musical in the future, full of dancing, well coordinated and choreographed robots? Only time will be able to tell.

Edwin Kee
Categories: Robots
Tags: CEATEC, ceatec 2014, cheerleader, murata