Wednesday, April 22, 2015

Watch Honda's ASIMO robot show off advancements in mobility

by David Muller of www.mlive.com

DETROIT, MI - For more than 40 years, Honda Motor Co., known for things such as cars, motorcycles and lawnmowers, has been keen on developing a bipedal robot.

There were slips along the way, quite literally, as some of the would-be humanoids had a difficult time balancing and would frequently tumble over.

Enter ASIMO. At the 2015 SAE World Congress in Detroit, the Japanese company had its signature humanoid robot on stage jumping, running, dancing and communicating in a display of what the future could hold for multi-functional robots.

The technology and machines such as ASIMO are being touted as potential in-home assistants. ASIMO also can perform sign language in both English and Japanese.

Although the robot's latest model has been updated recently, ASIMO is not new by technology's time standards. He was introduced 15 years ago, and has been an attraction at Disneyland since way back in 2005. ASIMO predates Facebook and the iPhone.

However, Tuesday did mark the first time in North America that ASIMO was joined on stage by Honda's two other latest advancements in mobile technology: the Walking Assist Device that uses a frame and battery-powered motors to help people with reduced walking ability, and the UNI-CUB, which is a one-seat mobility device that uses Honda's balance control technology to send a person to and fro simply by shifting his or her weight.

For more of this article and a video on the UNI-CUB, follow this link;
http://www.mlive.com/auto/index.ssf/2015/04/watch_hondas_asimo_robot_show.html

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