Ascent of Asimo: From a clunky pair of legs to a football playing, disco dancing robot friend who can even pour you a drink (just remember to keep him charged!)
- Japanese technology giant Honda unveiled first robot nearly 30 years ago
- This week, it showcased Asimo - a robot that can climb stars and dance
- Latest model can also pour drinks and communicate with sign language
- It is eventually intended to help elderly or those in disaster zones
Japanese technology giant Honda unveiled their first robot nearly 30 years ago. While innovative for its time, the model, dubbed E0, was little more than a pair of metal legs and could take five seconds to complete a single step.
Since then the robot has come a long way - undergoing a series of developments and redesigns that have made it slicker, faster and more robust.
And this week Honda showcased its latest offering: a talking, smiling robot friend named Asimo that can play football, climb the stairs - and even pour you a drink.
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From slow to slick: The E0 robot, left, unveiled in 1986, could take up to five minutes to complete a single step. Since then, Honda have released a series of redesigns - culminating in the latest Asimo, pictured right
Honda's humanoid robot, ascends a staircase as it makes its UK debut at the WIRED Conference in London
New look: In 1991, Honda added some colour to their robot when they unveiled the 'E4' (left). Two years later, arms were added to create the P1 (centre). While the P3, debuted in 1997, looks a lot more like the Asimo
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.
The latest version of the robot made its UK debut at the WIRED conference in London on Thursday, during a demonstration that showed off his skills with both balls and drinks.
He is 'a little bit of a show-off', according to Vikki Hood, of Honda Motor Europe, who helped Asimo showcase his remarkable range of talents.
'He absolutely loves the audience response to what he can do.'
Honda began the project in 1986, when they created the E0 robot, which had no torso and took up to 5 seconds to complete a single step.
In comparison, the new ASIMO can run at up to 9km an hour.
Asimo has 34 motors to help him perform different types of human movement – such as tilting, balancing and navigating – including a sensor in his wrist which tells him to release a grip.
It can even recognise the faces and voices of multiple people speaking simultaneously.
Using the visual information captured by the two cameras in its head, Asimo can detect the movement of multiple objects, assessing distance and direction.
Its human-like hands can open a bottle, pour a drink and carry goods while also expressing sign language.
Standing at 4.3 feet (1.3 metres) the gentle-handed robot can also hold a soft paper cup to pour liquid without squashing it.
During the demonstration, Asimo climbed stairs, ran in a circle and switched from running, walking and hopping without stopping - something his predecessor could not do.
On the head son! Asimo can even kick a football using his updated physique
It can also predict the direction a person will walk and instantly take an alternate path to avoid a collision.
Smiley-faced Asimo speaks English and Japanese and can carry a tray, push a cart and even play football.
It is also equipped with technology that enables it to maintain its balance even if its gently pushed or pulled.
34 motors allow Asimo to move, and dance, like a human
The robot is powered by a 51.8v lithium ion (Li-ION) battery and can operate for approximately 40 minutes on a single charge.
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 himself.
Without giving any time targets for when he might actually be available for domestic use, Hood admitted 'we still have a long way to go before introducing Asimo into the home – we do not put a fixed time line on it'.
Engineers are working on improving his physical capabilities, his dexterity and his ability to lift weight so that he can be helpful in the home.
Hood said: 'There is still a lot of work that needs to be done around people's acceptance of robots and identifying what their role in society will be.
'For us as a Japanese company, and looking at Japan where it has an ageing population, we see Asimo as perhaps helping to look after your elderly parents who live with you, helping your children with their homework and also helping with the daily chores.'
She did not rule out that Asimo might one day be available from an electronic shop alongside other domestic appliances.
He is 'a little bit of a show-off', according to Vikki Hood, of Honda Motor Europe, who helped Asimo showcase his skills.
Earlier the year, Satoshi Shigemi, chief engineer, Asmio, said: 'For the first time in Europe, Honda is demonstrating the all-new Asimo- the latest generation of Honda's remarkable research into humanoid robotics.
'Previous generations of Asimo have demonstrated incredible fluidity and speed of movements.
'The all-new Asimo takes this mobility, task performing ability and interaction with people to the next level and moves Honda one step closer to its ultimate goal of developing a robot that can be a helper to people in need.'
Honda said that Asimo is still in development and there are no existing plans to commercialise the robot.
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