When I first saw the Kinect sensor tilt up and down, it looked like a head nodding. That’s when it occurred to me that Microsoft should have released something along the lines of the fabled Nintendo R.O.B. from the 80’s - a peripheral in the form of a robot.

A little robot watching you make a fool of yourself while playing Dance Central has a lot more charm than the current HAL 3000-like bar. Personality goes a long way with many people.

When Microsoft does get around to releasing Kinect 2.0 or Kinect Slim, this robot approach should be considered. It certainly wouldn’t be difficult to accomplish, given the large number of robot toys out there.

A few features for this Kinect-o-bot:

- When playing online, other player’s voices could be channeled through the robot’s speaker (a current ability of the Kinect), and a little light would blink in the ‘mouth’ area, to make it look like the robot is speaking to you.

- The robot could provide a voice greeting you when you power on the console. It could also issue a sad goodbye when you power-off (which could guilt you into playing more Halo).

- This would be a little more advanced: the robot would have limbs and could pose, effectively demonstrating what you need to do for the game.

- The robot could make a ‘shrugging’ gesture if you are out of range of the sensor. Or hold a hand over the eyes, as if to say it is searching for someone.

- It could do a celebration when you unlock an achievement. A simple raising of the arms would suffice. Maybe a ‘woot woot’ too.

I might do a 3D render of this Kinect Robot. Sounds like an intriguing product. Do you have any ideas for this Kinect Robot?