Dance and robots. The worst possible combination in the world today; some aren't even able to walk, not to mention dancing. Or is it? Some robot developer from Merlin Robotics in collaboration with the Nottingham Trent University argues that you don't necessarily need by be human-like to be able to dance, thus he designed and built 'Robosnake', a vertical machine that moves in concordance with the rhythm set by a human companion.

Its optical sensors are sending signals towards a central computer through a bus addressable which, in turn, powers 28 separate pneumatic actuators, giving the robot 27 degrees of freedom. The newly build robot is though to be the first of its kind to use built-in air valves into the muscle mechanism, and bus addressable linking that gives it less sensibility to the parasite magnetic fields. The robotic snake stands two meters tall in a vertical position, and will most likely be revealed to the public at the London Science Museum in the month of April.

The project to build the revolutionary new robot has been initiated at Philip Breedon Senior Lecturer in Design Technology at Nottingham Trent University, but 'Robosnake' was not build by them, but by Merlin Robotics. Due to the unique combination between the used software and the two special new features of the robot, Nottingham Trend University tend to believe that it will become one of the first compliant robots in the world, and could easily be implemented into commercial applications.

The first statement related to the 'Robosnake' was released more than one year ago by the Nottingham Trend University, showing the robot dancing with choreographer Dr. Sophia Lycouris. According to Emergent Objects the sole purpose of the robot had been to investigate the extent of interactivity of artificial intelligent objects in relation to the movements of humans, in order to create a basic interface that would facilitate its response to corporal movements, rather than to learned commands.

The project was funded by the Engineering and Physical Science Research Council and the Arts and Humanities Research Council, and is part of the program 'Designing for the 21st Century'.