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JAPAN NEWS AND DISCUSSION

Honda unveils 'smarter' Asimo humanoid robot

Technology Nov. 09, 2011 - 10:41AM JST ( 31 )

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31 Comments

4

ebisenNov. 09, 2011 - 07:29AM JST

It was a way to try to answer some critics that Asimo, first shown in 2000, had been of little practical use so far, proving to be nothing more than a glorified toy and cute showcase for the Honda brand.

Headless idiotic critics.. Asimo was not developed as a nuclear rescue robot but mostly as a marketing tool (and it does that job wonderfully). Tepco should have been under fire for not founding nor developing the required technologies. I wonder why nobody criticizes Tepco for killing some robotics projects just a few years ago. Why on Earth should Honda even care about Tepco's faeces??
4

OkinawamikeNov. 09, 2011 - 07:29AM JST

Asimo, I'll have that rum and coke now please!
4

Mirai HayashiNov. 09, 2011 - 07:35AM JST

Asimo is amazing...its like a little person in a robot costume
1

naruhodo1Nov. 09, 2011 - 07:56AM JST

This welcomed news for the elderly. And in 20 yrs time (1st world countries of course), physical handicap will b history (well to those who work hard, dream big, achievers that will afford it).
3

Nicky WashidaNov. 09, 2011 - 08:28AM JST

Asimo is very gimmicky, but i see it more as an ongoing R&D project pushing the boundaries of robotics foward all the time. Cant be a bad thing.
0

FadamorNov. 09, 2011 - 09:24AM JST

They still need to work on a rad-hardened version to help out in the reactors. Place a charging station inside the reactor building and the robot won't have to leave.
-2

lrodriguezsosaNov. 09, 2011 - 09:30AM JST

Asimo rules!
0

darkbobNov. 09, 2011 - 09:56AM JST

'Hop on one foot and pour a drink'. Not at the same time, surely? Not the sharpest robot in the old box then ....
1

The_TrueNov. 09, 2011 - 10:07AM JST

when Honda or any other japanese company do what Boston Dynamic is doing wake me up!

have you seen this video of the new petmen? checkout http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mclbVTIYG8E&feature=feedu
0

UtrackNov. 09, 2011 - 10:26AM JST

He's making progress, not a Robonaut2 whose doing a stint in outerspace to be calibrated for low orbit operations.
1

cactusJackNov. 09, 2011 - 10:43AM JST

Asimo is an advertising vehicle for Honda.
-1

FernandoUchiyamaNov. 09, 2011 - 11:02AM JST

It's the first time I see videos of Asimo and I got very impressed with what this little robot can do. In the other hand, it seems all his movements are programmed. What makes this robot not intelligent.

If that is true, Asimo may have reached it's limit. It won't do any better than this. I think the actual model of development requires very much effort of engineers to little significant gains/improvements.

It would be interesting if the technology was open to the public, so anyone interested could contribute to it.

Anytime, anyplace, a "Steve Jobs" of robotics will show up and revolutionate this market. And I'm afraid this person will not come from Japan, where everything is closed and innovation are most of the times criticized.

The robot market needs more intelligent approach, like technology that allows robots to learn and act by themselves.
1

UtrackNov. 09, 2011 - 11:08AM JST

Robonaut2 in outerspace http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hkagxtiy1-M

Asimo will get there.
0

UtrackNov. 09, 2011 - 11:57AM JST

@ The_True

I went to the link and watched the Robot , he was kickin it in Timberlands he was good. I like the Robonaut more cause his bottom half is inter-changeable he even has his own vehicle attachement.
1

SamuraiBlueNov. 09, 2011 - 01:11PM JST

For people who want s to see it actually move in action here are the vids.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQlhB_7p6I4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2SDL7q_i84g

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SgrzaKBHVrc

The biggest feature of this machine is that it does it all in one single small package which requires immense coding and sensors working in a system to pull it off.
-5

NetNinjaNov. 09, 2011 - 01:41PM JST

WOAH, thanks for the link to Boston Dynamics.

America will have Terminators real soon. I'm so excited. We will win the war against Terrorism and groups like Al Qaeda.
0

MaitakeNov. 09, 2011 - 02:09PM JST

Asimo... more like "Awesome-o" amirite?
1

UtrackNov. 09, 2011 - 02:17PM JST

@NetNinja

America will have Terminators real soon. I'm so excited. We will win the war against Terrorism and groups like Al Qaeda.

You just had to scare me. Checkout Robonaut with is Centaur vehicle attachement. All he would need it weaponary and NO Body could get away from him. http://robonaut.jsc.nasa.gov/default.asp
0

WilliBNov. 09, 2011 - 02:34PM JST

When Asimov learns to procreate... then I will be worried.
1

WilliBNov. 09, 2011 - 02:36PM JST

NetNinja:

" America will have Terminators real soon. I'm so excited. We will win the war against Terrorism and groups like Al Qaeda. "

Yes, you will have all these funky Asimov-on-steroid toys, but no, you will not win the "war against Terrorism" with them. That is pure wishful thinking and refusal to address reality.
-1

SamuraiBlueNov. 09, 2011 - 02:44PM JST

@NetNinja

It'll have to learn how to get off the tread mill and remove it's tethers as you can see attached when doing extracurricular moves like exercising.
1

lostrune2Nov. 09, 2011 - 03:36PM JST

It should first be able to walk like BigDog on rough terrain, if it wants to get inside a blown-up reactor plant:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNZPRsrwumQ
-1

edojinNov. 09, 2011 - 06:29PM JST

If you're in the neighborhood, why not watch Asimo in action at Honda's headquarters building at Aoyama-Itchome in downtown Tokyo. He/she/it puts on a pretty neat show. And now the newest Asimo will undoubtedly be better yet ... And the show is free ...
-1

ebisenNov. 09, 2011 - 07:06PM JST

Edojin, good advice, it's really interesting and one can get really close to it... All in all, it's a very interesting machine.
1

Stephen JezNov. 09, 2011 - 10:38PM JST

Asimo has nothing on Boston Dynamic's "Big Dog" and "Petman".
0

TheQuestionNov. 09, 2011 - 11:48PM JST

Asimo has nothing on Boston Dynamic's "Big Dog" and "Petman".

Big Dog is creepy as hell to watch but it's equally impressive. Asimo is more of a 'sum of the parts' project. We've built robot arms that work incredibly well, robot legs, robot eyes, and even some rather complex robot brains. Honda brings those parts together, while Asimo isn't as usefull as each of it's individual parts it does show us that we are improving.

Slowly paving the way for our obot overlords.
0

Amai-yukiNov. 10, 2011 - 02:26AM JST

Can it cook too?
2

Darrin FloresNov. 10, 2011 - 04:32AM JST

Are you sure there's not a little man inside that suit?..sure looks like it
0

oberstNov. 10, 2011 - 05:31PM JST

one word....................kawaii
0

Al StewartNov. 11, 2011 - 04:35PM JST

awesome!! lets get it to Fukushima and help out. But they didnt mention if it had better radiation shielding. how is that?
0

It"S MENov. 11, 2011 - 04:45PM JST

Asimo is a research project that is a continuation from the old P3 and P2 projects. My company loaned one(only way) for presentations.

Japanese robot research is mostly into making them like humans and their findings are used globally. Yeah, japan is a leader in industrial robots too.

Myself got 4 robots here and can also program them.

Neither of which (incl. Asimo, BigDog, etc) can truly operate on their own nor make their own decisions. They are still closer to automatons than intelligent robots. I-Robot, etc is still a few decades away.