Bunraku puppet robots resurrected (pics/video)
26 Jan 2009
A trio of old-school bunraku puppet robots revived nearly 40 years after they were unveiled at the 1970 World Expo in Osaka are temporarily on display at the National Science Museum in Tokyo. Modeled after classic bunraku puppets, each pre-programmed robot is driven by around 20 pneumatic cylinders that move the arms, torso, head and face in sync with accompanying audio.
Here’s some dramatic video of one whose face transforms into that of a demon:
A few more photos of the other robots, which are on display at the Science Museum until February 8:
That is ridiculously scary
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Nuts! I’m going in November, and those would have been cool to see!
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Creepy in a cyborg kind of way.
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Are these Bunraku puppets or are they Karakuri?
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