QRIO ("Quest for cuRIOsity", originally named Sony Dream Robot or SDR) was a

bipedal Bipedalism is a form of terrestrial locomotion where an animal moves by means of its two rear (or lower) limbs or legs. An animal or machine that usually moves in a bipedal manner is known as a biped , meaning 'two feet' (from Latin ''bis'' ...

humanoid A humanoid (; from English ''human'' and '' -oid'' "resembling") is a non-human entity with human form or characteristics. By the 20th century, the term came to describe fossils which were morphologically similar, but not identical, to those of ...

entertainment robot developed and marketed (but never sold) by

Sony is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at Sony City in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. The Sony Group encompasses various businesses, including Sony Corporation (electronics), Sony Semiconductor Solutions (i ...

to follow up on the success of its

AIBO AIBO (stylized as aibo, abbreviated as Artificial Intelligence RoBOt, homonymous with , "pal" or "partner" in Japanese) is a series of robotic dogs designed and manufactured by Sony. Sony announced a prototype Aibo in mid-1998, and the first co ...

entertainment robot. QRIO stood approximately 0.6 m (2 feet) tall and weighed 7.3 kg (16 pounds). QRIO's slogan was "''Makes life fun, makes you happy!''" On January 26, 2006, on the same day as it announced its discontinuation of

and other products, Sony announced that it would stop development of QRIO.

Development

The QRIO prototypes were developed and manufactured by Sony Intelligence Dynamics Laboratory, Inc. The number of these prototypes in existence is unknown. Up to ten QRIO have been seen performing a dance routine together; this was confirmed by a Sony representative at the Museum of Science in Boston, MA on January 22, 2006. Numerous videos of this can be found on the web. Four fourth-generation QRIO prototype robots were featured dancing in the '' Hell Yes'' music video by recording artist

Beck Beck David Hansen (born Bek David Campbell; July 8, 1970), known mononymously as Beck, is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He rose to fame in the early 1990s with his Experimental music, experimental and Lo-fi mus ...

. These prototypes lacked a third camera in the center of the forehead and the improved hands and wrists which were added to later prototypes. It took programmers three weeks to program their choreography. QRIO is capable of voice and face recognition, making it able to remember people as well as their likes and dislikes. A video on QRIO's website shows it speaking with several children. QRIO can run at 23 cm/s, and is credited in

Guinness World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, list ...

(2005 edition) as being the first bipedal robot capable of running (which it defines as moving while both legs are off the ground at the same time). The 4th generation QRIO's internal battery lasts about 1 hour.

In popular culture

In 2005, four QRIO robots appeared in the music video for " Hell Yes" by

. The robots dance along to the music. In the 2009

series finale A series finale is the final installment of an episodic entertainment series, most often a television series. It may also refer to a final theatrical sequel, the last part of a television miniseries, the last installment of a literary series, ...

of the reimagined television series ''

Battlestar Galactica ''Battlestar Galactica'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Glen A. Larson. It began with the original television series in 1978, and was followed by a short-run sequel series, '' Galactica 1980'', a line of book adaptat ...

'', the virtual Number Six and virtual Baltar appear in coda set on modern-day Earth. They comment on the cycle of violence perpetuated by humanity's interaction with "technology run amok". The final scene then shows a montage of real-life robots, starting with a Sony QRIO.

References

External links

Four QRIOs perform various dance numbers Teacher's Little Helpers: Robots Attend UCSD Nursery School In Research Study
{{DEFAULTSORT:Qrio Bipedal humanoid robots Robotics at Sony Dance animation Social robots Products and services discontinued in 2006 2003 robots Animatronic robots

Development

In popular culture

See also

Toys

References

External links