"This better not awaken anything in me."

AIthleisure

A video created by The Aigency, "a talent management resource for robotic personalities," shows a Boston Dynamics Spot Mini robodog perform a spirited dance routine while rocking a pair of basketball shorts and oversized hoodie.

And it's already putting people under its spell.

"This better not awaken anything in me," Bloomberg journalist Oliver Sachgau quipped on Twitter.

Short Supply

Boston Dynamics started selling the quadrupedal robo-dog this year but supplies are still limited. The robot really knows how to dance. A 2018 video showed it twerking and moonwalking to "Uptown Funk."

The company behind the video only launched on April 1. It's aim is to represent robots the same way a talent agency would represent human talent. "We get the robots on set and ensure they hit their marks," its website reads.

April Fools?

The hoodie-clad robot's dance is not unusual in a media landscape where videos surface of a drone taking a dog on a walk, or researchers teaching large robotic arms to prepare hot dogs.

"We figured that the idea already sounds crazy enough to be an April Fools joke so we are just embracing the timing," Seattle entrepreneur and co-founder Forest Gibson said in a Dot.la interview.

"We handle the logistics of getting the robots on set and into character for their performance," Gibson added. "We then support the media and promotions of the production via social media, red carpet events, and press tours with our talent."

So twerk away, Spot.

READ MORE: Here Comes The Aigency, a Talent Agency for Robot Actors [dot.la]

More on Spot Mini: See Boston Dynamics’ Robot Dog Tackle an Outdoor Obstacle Course


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