Wakamaru Robot to Join Japanese Festival

The Osaka Tenjin Festival is one of three great festivals in Japan.  This yearly July festival attracts more than a million visitors each year.

This year, a Wakamaru robot from Mistubishi Heavy Industries is being trained for the festival.  See our previous post when this robot was in a stage play.

The robot is being taught the Osaka-jime, the festivals call and clap and will act as a modern greeting doll.

omukae ningyo (”greeting doll”) — a type of doll that parishioners used to place on their festival boats to greet the floating Shinto shrines as they drifted past.

Link via (Botropolis)