I'm not sure that "dancing robots" have enough functionality to be a long-lasting market segment unless they add a lot to their repertoire. I've listed this one, however, because there are replacements for all parts and it looks fun to build.
: : : HITEC ROBOTICS - PRODUCT OVERVIEW : : :: "Hitec Robotics is proud to announce ROBONOVA-I. This exciting new humanoid robot offers educators, students and robotic hobbyists a complete robot package. The stable ROBONOVA-I can walk, run, do flips, cartwheels, dance moves and once programmed, is ready to compete in any Robo One Class “J” competition. Available two ways, as a kit, so you can enjoy building your robot yourself, or as a pre-assembled, “RTW”, “ready to walk” instant gratification robot."
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You're right about the 'dancing robot' segment, and if that was all they could do then there wouldn't be much of a future. The dance routines are more 'marketing' than anything - an attempt to show off the robot's capability and what is possible. Robot experimentors and hobbyists here in Japan and in Korea usually start with either a Kondo KHR-1 or Hitec Robonova-1 and use it as a functioning bipedal platform. They then go on to add their own value and creativity.
At the Tokyo Robo-One competition last month we saw a lot of entries based on the kits that had been modified and enhanced to add gyros, accelerometers, functioning manipulators, IR sensors, and visual recognition and tracking. You'll find our detailed reports and videos on Robots Dreams.
How far you want to go with them, depends entirely on how much time, energy, and effort you want to put into them. Both the KHR-1 and Robonova-1 kits are just the first step to a great adventure.
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