Robot choreography isn’t as out of place as you might think. There is even a Guinness World Record for Most Robots Dancing in sync. Dancing is just one of Boston Dynamics’ Spot the robot dog’s many skills. Spot was designed for data capturing and digital exploration, but it turns out that Spot is also a fan of BTS.
In a recent video promoting the acquisition of Boston Dynamics by Hyundai, seven Spot robots dance to “IONIQ: I’m On It” BTS’ collaboration single with Hyundai for their Ioniq electric car. The robots were choreographed by Monica Thomas who is also behind some of Boston Dynamics’ other dancing robot videos. (Spot has previously danced to “Uptown Funk,” and other Boston Dynamics robots like Atlas and Handle have also had their turn in the studio.)
The dogs create formations with their arms, dance in lines and circles, and one Spot robot even has a solo moment. To create dances like these, Boston Dynamics has developed Spot software called Choreographer specifically to teach the robot dog to groove. “There were a lot of challenges around getting the vision of our choreographer, who’s used to dealing with human dancers, into our software,” roboticist Eric Whitman said in a post on the Boston Dynamics blog. “Everything had to be worked out in advance and scripted precisely. Robots have the advantage over humans in that they’re very repeatable: Once you get it right, it stays right. But they have the disadvantage that you have to tell them every little detail. They don’t improvise at all.”
What about BTS and their moves? Well, in another Hyundai x Boston Dynamics video, BTS’ members and one Spot robot meet up at a Hyundai warehouse. In the studio they show off their moves and even have a little bit of a dance battle. It seems like Spot and BTS’ mutual relationship with Hyundai has brought them all together. Now we’re just wondering if the seven Spots and the members of BTS will ever create even more complicated choreography together.