Honda Updated ASIMO Robot Can Run Faster, Has Improved Hand Dexterity

Get ready for the future, now: Honda will introduce its newest version of ASIMO, the world’s most advanced humanoid robot, to U.S. audiences on the national talk show “LIVE with Kelly and Michael,” on Tuesday, April 15, 2014. The newest version of ASIMO (Advanced Step in Innovative Mobility) will show hosts Kelly Ripa and Michael Strahan several of its new robotic abilities.

The updated ASIMO features enhanced hand dexterity, including the ability to sign in both Japanese and American sign language. He (or she, there’s no indication on the gender) can also run faster than before, climb stairs more smoothly, hop, jump, balance on one foot, and transition seamlessly between walking and running, among other new and unique capabilities.

The new version of ASIMO is 4'3'' tall (130 cm), weighs 110 lbs (50 kg), and is made of magnesium alloy, plastic resin and other materials. ASIMO runs on a rechargeable lithium ion battery, with an approximate operating time of 40 minutes before recharging. 

 

Source;

http://www.houseofjapan.com/auto-moto/honda-updated-asimo-robot-can-run-faster-has-improved-hand-dexterity

Honda denies nuclear mission for robot

There was a report that Honda was going to outfit ASIMO with a few upgrades to help out in the disaster in Japan;
http://gizmodo.com/5830373/hondas-most-adorable-robot-is-about-to-go-nuclear
TOKYO — Japan's Honda has denied a press report it is hoping to retool its humanoid robot ASIMO to enable it to join emergency work inside the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

The Japanese newspaper Asahi Shimbun said in its Friday evening edition that Honda was aiming to upgrade the robot's upper body functions so that it can move its arms as smoothly as a human being.

US Honda spokeswoman Lauren Ebner said the report was "speculation."

"Although Honda hopes that ASIMO will someday be a helper to people, at this point the robot is solely a research and design project," Ebner said in a statement to AFP.

No official at Honda's head office in Tokyo was available for comment on Friday.

The current ASIMO, introduced in 2000 and resembling a small astronaut, stands 130 centimetres (4 feet 3 inches) tall. The bipedal bot can walk, run, carry trays, push carts and shake hands with people.

Asahi said that to work in the debris-strewn nuclear plant, ASIMO would likely be modified and fitted with tyres or caterpillar tracks.

The Fukushima plant has been leaking radiation from its reactors since its cooling systems were knocked out by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami. At some hotspots radiation is high enough to be lethal to humans.

Robots have already been used inside the plant to take video footage, including the US-made PackBot and Japanese-made Quince crawler robots.

Source;
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5g7m9qLNugC96cUAu4BGNJPVA8Dxg?docId=CNG.1cc437d7d61fc59f3394a87a1a28abbb.171