Not content with creating robots who dance better than us, engineers in Japan have developed a robot to better identify joint motions when turning on the slopes. To keep the experiment realistic, engineers at Kanazawa University attached the two legged robot with skiis at one end and a “large waist” at the other. The state of the art robot contains servomotors and senors, whilst the an onboard computer allowed researchers to program various motions. Using this function, the team of researchers were able to copy the exact motions of world cup racer Gaku Hirasawa and program them into the robot, resulting in faster and more stable turns. Interesting stuff, but what does this mean to the casual skier…?

1.   The worlds first man vs. machines winter Olympics

2.   Lost? Call your ski robot to lead you home

3.   No friends? Get a ski robot

Click through to physorg.com for the full story or check out the unrelated skiing robot video above.