Japan having been bred on a steady diet of fictional robots of all shapes and sizes, are indisputably at the forefront in the development of humanoid robots. A central idea of science fiction for the better part of this century. it seems technology is once again catching up with fantasy.
Honda, in following the steps of its origin in motorcycles, cars and power products, continues its endeavour in mobility-culminating in the development of a two-legged humanoid robot, named ASIMO, Though ASIMO is still far from being able to perform tasks with any significant level of autonomy, it's latest iteration shows sign that, it's getting there. The goal for Honda? To one day sell thousands of ASIMOs to people with disabilities who need help around the house.
ASIMO is no stranger to the public, having been used as a branding and marketing tool for Honda over the last decade. It's recent local appearance at Petrosains KLCC was just another in a string of worldwide media appearances.
Early versions of ASIMO hardly resembled a human form, appearing little more than a pair of mechanical legs with an unwieldy box situated where the torso should be. In development since 1986, ASIMO today looks like a cute suited astronaut out of an Astro Boy cartoon-a round bubble-head shape, soft curves that form its appendages and body, and a backpack (its batteries)
ASIMO stands at only 4ft and weighs 52.2kg, a concious design decision to make it appear diminutive to avoid appearing threatening. So what can ASIMO do? It can climb and descend stairs, shake hands, run, dance, recognise faces, perform programmed routines and even predict people's movements as to avoid obstruction.
The latest generation ASIMO can now even work in pairs. At a recent demonstration at its Tokyo headquarters, Honda showed off two ASIMOs serving tea and performing other tasks in perfect coordination with one another. While a multi-million dollar humanoid replacing the duties of a pantry maids seems like a huge case of overkill, the ramification. The science fiction ideal of having robots one day perform various daily menial tasks in homes, factories, and society at large seem assured and imminent.
ASIMO is now also smarter, which allows it to perform more tasks without human intervention. According to Honda, ASIMO can for example,recognise drink choices and carry a tray with the requested drink to the person who placed the order. It can also navigate itself fairly autonomously, and can avoid people or sudden obstacles in its path. To cap it off, it is also capable of automatically heading off to the nearest charging station when its batteries run low.
There are about 20 ASIMOs at last count, and some have already been leased out to big companies in Japan, IBM for example, has leased one for use in a building in Japan. IBM uses it to greet visitors and lead them to meeting rooms. Leasing costs are reputedly at about USD150,000 a month (in 2002)
The upside to this is that ASIMOs aren't exorbitantly expensive to build. It has been reported that building costs are less than USD 1 million, with mass production promising to cut that cost down considerably. One day perhaps, we might even able to walk in to Harvey Norman to pick up a humanoid robot at a cost not much different than a high-end flat screen TV.
Honda, in following the steps of its origin in motorcycles, cars and power products, continues its endeavour in mobility-culminating in the development of a two-legged humanoid robot, named ASIMO, Though ASIMO is still far from being able to perform tasks with any significant level of autonomy, it's latest iteration shows sign that, it's getting there. The goal for Honda? To one day sell thousands of ASIMOs to people with disabilities who need help around the house.
ASIMO is no stranger to the public, having been used as a branding and marketing tool for Honda over the last decade. It's recent local appearance at Petrosains KLCC was just another in a string of worldwide media appearances.
Early versions of ASIMO hardly resembled a human form, appearing little more than a pair of mechanical legs with an unwieldy box situated where the torso should be. In development since 1986, ASIMO today looks like a cute suited astronaut out of an Astro Boy cartoon-a round bubble-head shape, soft curves that form its appendages and body, and a backpack (its batteries)
ASIMO stands at only 4ft and weighs 52.2kg, a concious design decision to make it appear diminutive to avoid appearing threatening. So what can ASIMO do? It can climb and descend stairs, shake hands, run, dance, recognise faces, perform programmed routines and even predict people's movements as to avoid obstruction.
The latest generation ASIMO can now even work in pairs. At a recent demonstration at its Tokyo headquarters, Honda showed off two ASIMOs serving tea and performing other tasks in perfect coordination with one another. While a multi-million dollar humanoid replacing the duties of a pantry maids seems like a huge case of overkill, the ramification. The science fiction ideal of having robots one day perform various daily menial tasks in homes, factories, and society at large seem assured and imminent.
ASIMO is now also smarter, which allows it to perform more tasks without human intervention. According to Honda, ASIMO can for example,recognise drink choices and carry a tray with the requested drink to the person who placed the order. It can also navigate itself fairly autonomously, and can avoid people or sudden obstacles in its path. To cap it off, it is also capable of automatically heading off to the nearest charging station when its batteries run low.
There are about 20 ASIMOs at last count, and some have already been leased out to big companies in Japan, IBM for example, has leased one for use in a building in Japan. IBM uses it to greet visitors and lead them to meeting rooms. Leasing costs are reputedly at about USD150,000 a month (in 2002)
The upside to this is that ASIMOs aren't exorbitantly expensive to build. It has been reported that building costs are less than USD 1 million, with mass production promising to cut that cost down considerably. One day perhaps, we might even able to walk in to Harvey Norman to pick up a humanoid robot at a cost not much different than a high-end flat screen TV.
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