THE island has this week welcomed a special guest to its shores. Standing at four feet, three inches in height and weighing in at 54 kilos, ASIMO has been descibed as an ambassador of technology.
The advanced humanoid robot, created by the Honda Motor Company, was yesterday unveiled at the University of Cyprus on the occasion of Demstar Automotive’s 40-year anniversary in Cyprus.
The robot resembles a small astronaut wearing a backpack, and can walk and run on two feet in a manner resembling human locomotion at up to 6km/h.
ASIMO was created at Honda’s Research & Development Wako Fundamental Technical Research Centre in Japan and is the current model in a line that began in 1986.
Officially, the name is an acronym for ‘Advanced Step in Innovative MObility.’
Honda’s official statements indicate that the robot’s name is not a homage to science fiction writer and inventor of the Three Laws of Robotics, Isaac Asimov.
Honda’s engineers set out to develop a humanoid robot aiming to achieve advanced mobility functions and intelligence technology. ASIMO was conceived ultimately to be able to function in the real human living environment and will eventually serve people as another set of ears, hands or legs.
Honda Europe’s corporate PR Manager William De Braekeleer yesterday told the Mail that the project was an ongoing one. “The ultimate aim is to benefit society whether that be in the home or elsewhere. In the future, the robot will be used to perform tasks that humans cannot undertake, such as cleaning polluted areas,” he said.
Managing Director of Demstar, Alexis Demetriou, explained that Honda’s philosophy is to use technology for a better life. “The company’s engineers did not attempt to create just a robot, they attempted to create the future assistant of mankind,” he said.
There are currently 46 ASIMO units in existence. Each one is believed to cost approximately one million dollars to manufacture.
They tour many prestigious scientific and robotics events and are used extensively to inspire young people about science and engineering.
The general public will have the opportunity to see ASIMO over the course of the weekend during a number of special presentations at the ceremony hall of the University campus.
So, what can ASIMO actually do? In order for the robot to interact better with humans, Honda has incorporated five main features in its design.
ASIMO is able to recognise moving objects. Using the visual information captured by the camera mounted in its head, ASIMO can detect 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.
ASIMO can also interpret the positioning and movement of a hand, recognising 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, recognise when a handshake is offered or when a person waves and respond accordingly. It can also recognise movement directions such as pointing.
ASIMO can also recognise the objects and terrain of its environment and act in a way that is safe for both itself and nearby humans. For example, recognising potential hazards such as stairs, and by stopping and starting to avoid hitting humans or other moving objects.
ASIMO’s ability to identify the source of sounds has been improved, and it can distinguish between voices and other sounds. It can respond to its name, face people when being spoken to, and recognise sudden, unusual sounds such as that of a falling object or a collision, and face in that direction.
ASIMO has the ability to recognise faces, even when ASIMO or the human being is moving. Once they are registered it can address them by name. To me, the voice actually sounded like that of a young boy.
However, the road to intelligent behaviour remains a long one. The model for intelligence, the brain, must first be better understood before similar principles of processing can be applied to humanoid robots. While Honda continues to make progress in this area of research, it is anticipated that it will be at least 10-15 years before ASIMO’s intelligence matches its existing high level of mobility.
