Asimo

ASIMO is a humanoid robot created by Honda. Standing at 130 centimeters (4 feet 3 inches) and weighing 54 kilograms (119 pounds), the robot resembles a small astronaut wearing a backpack and can walk or run on two feet at speeds up to 6 km/h (3.7 mph), matching Hitachi's EMIEW.

Development

ASIMO was created at Honda's Research & Development Wako Fundamental Technical Research Center in Japan. It is the current model in a line of twelve that began in 1986 with E0. ASIMO resembles a child in size and is the most human-like robot HONDA has made so far. The robot has 7 DOF (Degrees of freedom) in each arm — two joints of 3 DOF, shoulder and wrist, giving "Six degrees of freedom" and 1 DOF at the elbow; 6 DOF in each leg — 3 DOF at the crotch, 2 DOF at the ankle and 1 DOF at the knee; and 3 DOF in the neck joint. The hands have 2 DOF — 1 DOF in each thumb and 1 in each finger. This gives a total of 34 DOF in all joints. Honda will not confirm how much it costs.

Name

The name is an acronym for "Advanced Step in Innovative MObility". Online magazine, The Future Of Things (TFOT), states that Honda did not name the robot in reference to science fiction writer and inventor of the Three Laws of Robotics, Isaac Asimov. The name ASIMO is also a pun meaning “feet, too”. アシ (ashi) is commonly translated as “feet” but can also refer to the lower leg from the knee down and モ (mo) is a particle meaning “also” or “too”, thus ASIMO  roughly translated can mean “it has feet, too” as is appropriate for a robot with legs. The transliteration of アシモ as “asimo” uses the Kunrei system of romanization rather than the more familiar Hepburn system of romanization which renders it as “ashimo”. In both cases it should be pronounced “ah she moh” to match the original Japanese pronunciation.
As of February 2009, there are over 100 ASIMO units in existence

Recognition technology

With 2000's ASIMO model Honda added features that enable ASIMO to interact better with humans. These features fall under 5 categories:

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  Moving objects

Using the visual information captured by the camera mounted in its head, ASIMO detects the movements of multiple objects, assessing distance and direction. Common applications of this feature would include: the ability to follow the movements of people with its camera, to follow a person, or greet a person when he or she approaches.

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  Postures and gestures

ASIMO interprets the positioning and movement of a hand, recognizing postures and gestures. Because of this ASIMO can react to and be directed by not only voice commands, but also to the natural movements of human beings. This enables it to, for example, recognize when a handshake is offered or when a person waves and respond accordingly. It can also recognize movement directions such as pointing.

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  Environment

ASIMO recognizes the objects and terrain of its environment and acts in a way that is safe for both itself and nearby humans. For example, recognizing potential hazards such as stairs, and by stopping and starting to avoid hitting humans or other moving objects.

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  Distinguishing sounds

ASIMO's ability to identify the source of sounds has been improved, and it can distinguish between voices and other sounds. It responds to its name, faces people when spoken to, and recognizes sudden, unusual sounds such as that of a falling object or a collision, and faces in that direction. It can respond to questions, either by a brief nod, a shake of the head or a verbal answer.

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  Facial recognition

ASIMO can recognize faces, even when ASIMO or the human being is moving. It can individually recognize approximately 10 different faces. Once they are registered it can address them by name.

Network integration

Utilizing networks ASIMO can provide information and function better for various commercial applications such as reception. Its abilities fall under 2 categories:

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  Integration with user's network system

By connecting with a user's network ASIMO can offer many useful functions such as greeting visitors and informing personnel of the visitor's arrival by transmitting messages and pictures of the visitor's face and guide visitors to a predetermined location.

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  Internet connectivity

By accessing information via the Internet, ASIMO can become a provider of news and weather updates.