Asimo The Japanese Robot

 

Honda's Asimo robot has grown up - with its latest upgrade giving it enhanced intelligence, added dexterity and the ability to run 5.6mph (9km/h).

The first Asimo was created in 2000, and is seen as one of the leading attempts at creating a humanoid. The latest version is able to change its actions depending on what happens around it - such as moving out of a person's way. The 4ft (130cm)-tall robot is also able to do complex sign language.
Asimo - which stands for Advanced Step in Innovative Mobility - is eventually intended to help people in various situations of need, such as the elderly, or those in disaster zones. It can not yet be bought in shops.

Parts of the technology developed by Honda for the Asimo project have been used to help clean-up efforts at the stricken Japanese nuclear plant Fukushima. But in the humanoid robot, upgrades have focused on making Asimo better understand the world around itself.

ASIMO is now able to use sensor inputs, intelligent prediction, and past experience to autonomously determine what it should do without direct operator intervention. The goal here is to let ASIMO work alongside puny humans without needing continuous supervision, and ASIMO is able to walk around without bumping into anyone, politely stepping aside if it classifies you as a collision risk.

Honda, which takes great pride in its humanoid, is clearly making a big push to get ASIMO to be autonomous (and useful) in environments that require a lot of human interaction, and that's what this new generation of ASIMO robots is all about.

Honda also announced that it has established Honda Robotics as a new collective name to "represent all of its robotics technologies and product applications," including its robotic exoskeletons, the U3-X personal mobility vehicle, and a new manipulator that could be used in dangerous environments like the Fukushima nuclear reactors.