‘Little Seiko’ Unicycling Robot Looks Like EVE Before She Learned to Hover

To follow up on its bicycling Murata Boy robot, Murata has subtracted a wheel hired a stylist, thrown in a gyroscope and come up with the Seiko-chan or “Little Seiko” unicycling robot. The small robot will be able to move forward and backward on its single wheel, and is even capable of keeping its balance at a standstill. Intended as an educational tool for youngsters, the bot can be controlled with Bluetooth and has a small camera mounted on the front.

Murata claims that Little Seiko is designed to look like a Kindergarten-aged girl, but I can’t help but see the likeness to EVE, WALL-E’s incorrigibly charming onscreen lady interest. The odd, outstretched arms (which are likely vital for balancing) and Pith helmet make the robot a little less endearing than its Pixar counterpart, but the resemblance is undeniable. Little Seiko’s big debut is slated for CEATECH, when we’ll actually get to see this thing in action. [Crunchgear]