Largest
Robot Dance - world record set by Simon Fraser University
BURNABY, B.C., Canada -- 289 robotic dancers
from the Simon
Fraser University danced the mechanical boogie to
celebrate the school's new Mechatronics student union - setting
the new world record for the Largest
Robot Dance. Photo: Students at SFU broke the world
record for most
people dancing the robot. Photo by Stuart Colcleugh /
SFU (enlarge
photo) The
previous Guinness world record for the Largest
Robot Dance was set by the U.K.'s University of Kent
in 2007, when 276 android wannabes gathered.
Also the University of Melbourne previously
fielded 318 Robot dancers in one place but failed to submit
the necessary documentation to Guinness World Records in order
to secure the record. Lesson to learn: ALWAYS register
in advance your record attempt and submit
your record as soon as you set it!
“It was just stellar,” says student organizer
Graham Hiscocks who helped organize the Largest
Robot Dance to celebrate the creation of a new Mechatronics
(robotics) student union, part of SFU’s
School of Engineering Science. “I was up on stage looking
into a sea of cardboard and tinfoil and smiles.”
The electrified dance party was held at
SFU's Convocation Mall, with enthusiastic participants donning
decorated cardboard boxes and other robotic costumes to get
into the spirit.
Put on by the Faculty of Applied Science
Student Societies, the event was to help usher in the new
Mechatronix Student Union.
It was a chance to blow off a little
steam before the pressure of final exams kicks into high gear.
It was also a way for the school's students union to welcome
its newest member, the Mechatronix Student Union, from the
school of applied science.
"Those are the ones that typically go on
to study robotics, so we wanted to stick to a robot theme
but make it accessible to all SFU
students," explained Graham Hiscocks of the SFU
Students' Society board of directors.
"I'm glad to see our university's reputation
for having fun and hard-working students upheld," said Hiscocks.
"Anything that lets us be a bit silly in broad daylight is
a record worth breaking.