Keepon goes Seoul-searching

Keepon is a robot designed for social interaction with children for the purposes of social development research and autism therapy [1]. Keepon´s capacity for rhythmic synchrony in the form of dance has resulted in the popularity of several fictional music videos on the internet [2, 3]. During a research collaboration visit at the KAIST PES Design Lab in Korea, Keepon´s creators added this new chapter to the story of Keepon´s travels. Upon watching a video of traditional Korean “Pungmulnori” dancing, which features distinctive spinning hats, Keepon becomes enamored. The robot has many adventures as he travels around Korea in search of a dance group that finally welcomes him into their cultural performance.