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ASIMO posts

Honda's U3-X Personal Mobility Device is the Segway of unicycles

by Paul Miller posted Sep 24th 2009 at 12:27AM

Yeah, we've seen a self-balancing unicycle before, but the brand new U3-X from Honda takes it to another level. A creepy-sterile, awesomely futuristic Honda level, to be precise. What makes the U3-X particularly interesting is it has the regular large wheel of a unicycle, but that wheel is actually made up of several small wheels in a series, which can rotate independently, meaning that the device can go forward, backward, side-to-side and diagonally, all being controlled with a simple lean. Honda credits its ASIMO research for this multi-directional capability, though we're not sure we see it -- ASIMO is biped, after all -- but far be it from us to discredit an excuse to keep up the good work on the ASIMO front. Right now the "experimental model" of the U3-X gets a single hour of battery and weighs under 22 pounds, with a seat and foot rests that fold into the device for extra portability. No word of course on when the thing might make it to market, but Honda plans to show it off next month at the Tokyo Motor Show. A devastatingly short video of the U3-X in action is after the break.

Continue reading Honda's U3-X Personal Mobility Device is the Segway of unicycles

Latest ASIMO prototype is made of wood, requires one human

by Donald Melanson posted Aug 11th 2009 at 9:23PM

Honda may have bestowed plenty of improvements on ASIMO over the years, but it looks like an alumni of rival robot maker Waseda University has taken it upon himself to deliver some improvements of his own that make it even more lifelike, though no doubt just as prone to tumbles. The key, it seems, is to ditch the robotics and high-tech materials altogether and instead use something called "wood," which can be fashioned into a shell (or "costume," if you will) that's able to accommodate one slightly uncomfortable human. Either that, or ASIMO has been robot-napped from Honda and is now being held at an undisclosed location. Check out the video after the break to decide for yourself.

Continue reading Latest ASIMO prototype is made of wood, requires one human

Researchers teach ASIMO and HRP-2 a bit of real life Frogger

by Paul Miller posted Aug 4th 2009 at 10:48AM

Some George Costanza-types at Carnegie Mellon have repurposed their own hard earned knowledge of Frogger maneuvers at the university arcade into useful object avoidance techniques for robots. They've outfitted both ASIMO and HRP-2 with versions of the technology, which allows the robots to detect their surroundings, create 3D maps of obstacles and plan routes accordingly (and actually has nothing to do with Frogger). If you check out the two videos after the break, you can see that these guys really put the bots through the ringer, including some death defying spinning obstacles that ASIMO avoided with ease, and the "real life" environment the HRP-2 is faced with... but seriously, couldn't they just let ASIMO have the blue dot already?

[Thanks, Poly Bug]

Continue reading Researchers teach ASIMO and HRP-2 a bit of real life Frogger

iRobot says its Warrior bot is more human than ASIMO

by Donald Melanson posted Apr 15th 2009 at 1:12PM

Is a humanoid robot inherently more human than your average task-specific bot? iRobot apparently doesn't think so, and it's taken square aim at one of the most popular humanoid bots around to make its point. That argument arose in a recent interview with CNET News, where iRobot CEO Colin Angle responded to a question about humanoid robots by flatly asking, "why would you want to make a humanoid robot?," adding that they might be good for movies or those looking for a robot companion, "but other than that, most tasks are best tackled by designs that are not constrained by trying to look like a person." He then goes on to note that Honda's ASIMO "requires a team of 10 or 15 people to maintain it, it can walk about, maybe, half a meter per second and in some situations climb stairs over the course of a few minutes, and if it ever falls down, it's a paperweight." On the other hand, iRobot's Warrior bot, he says, "can take a 10-foot drop onto concrete, drive 20 miles an hour, drive up stairs without stopping at full speed, carry 200 pounds of payload and has, maybe, five motors," which means it can "go nearly everywhere a human can." So, Angle says, "you look at these things and say, which one of these is a robot human? The answer is, Warrior." Is it? Or, deep down, is there a little bit of ASIMO in all of us?

Honda's ASIMO could be thought controlled in Spaceballs 2

by Thomas Ricker posted Mar 31st 2009 at 3:31AM

Sorry, that's not actually Dark Helmet, it's a researcher demonstrating the latest Brain Machine Interface (BMI) cooked up for robotics. While it's not looking too portable, it's a far nimbler setup than the original MRI Scanner first concocted by Honda to control robots in near real-time back in 2006. This time, Honda Research Institute in coordination with Advanced Telecommunications Research (ATR) and Shimadzu Corporation have achieved robotic thought control using a sensor cap to measure electrical potential on the scalp and cerebral blood flow. While we've seen much of this BMI tech applied to video games in the past, Honda claims its technology achieves the world's highest accuracy at 90% without special training. Impressive, even though it's clearly R&D work for now. Check the video after the break.

Gallery: Honda's brain-controlled ASIMO

[Via Akihabara News]

Continue reading Honda's ASIMO could be thought controlled in Spaceballs 2

E-paper signs being tested in Tokyo for disaster prevention

by Joseph L. Flatley posted Jan 27th 2009 at 3:38AM

While we're still waiting for our electronic broadsheet (hell, we'll settle for a tabloid) it looks like folks in Toshima will be seeing quite a bit of the e-paper as they hit the streets of this Tokyo ward. In a test conducted by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, the signage has been installed in the proximity of the Toshima Life and Industry Plaza, where a wireless network was established to provide updates in case of an emergency. There are currently two signs: one in the lobby of the post office measures over three meters across and sports 240 x 768 resolution (the paper has 4mm pixels), and holds down power consumption at about 24W. Stationed at the Higashi-Ikebukuro bus stop, the second sign is 60 x 40 centimeters with 144 x 96 resolution, and power consumption here is about 9W. The test will run until January 29th, after which point the city will have to rely upon its usual civil defense repertoire -- which is believed to include the vigilant eye of Honda's 49-foot ASIMO.

Hydrogen-powered Honda FCX Clarity, giant ASIMO to lead Rose Parade

by Darren Murph posted Dec 24th 2008 at 2:09AM

For the first time ever (yes, ever!), this year's Rose Parade in Pasadena, California will be headed up by a hydrogen-powered vehicle. Honda's fuel cell-equipped FCX Clarity will lead the 120th parade, and the pace car will be followed by the Super Cub motorcycle -- the first model sold in the United States. As fancy as these two are, it's the ASIMO that'll undoubtedly steal the show, and yes, we're talking about the 49-foot iteration we spotted a few days back. Catch Honda's trio riding high on January 1 at 8:00AM PST; after that, it's time to place your bets between USC and Penn State.

Caption Contest: 49-foot ASIMO makes trees, dancers look tiny

by Darren Murph posted Dec 19th 2008 at 4:04PM

There's nothing that screams "end of the world" quite like a 49-foot ASIMO towering over a forest, but we'd prefer to ignore inevitable doom long enough to imagine what exactly a 49-foot ASIMO would scream.

Thomas: "Dance I said! Dance!"
Chris: "Hey, did we remember to fix that bug where he falls down stairs?"
Joe: "Where's Arthur Murray when we need him the most?"
Darren: "Wait, Dancing With The Stars said what? No pimp canes? That's a deal-breaker."
Paul: "In his musical debut, 'ASIMO Takes the Stairs,' the eponymous star provides a surprisingly self-deprecating reenactment of the moments leading up to his infamous tumble. Music by Elton John."
Nilay: "Not to be outdone, iRobot later sucked the entire city of Pasadena into a football field-sized Roomba."
Don: "After years of toiling away at two-bit trade shows, ASIMO finally realized his dream project: Mr. Peanut: The Musical."
Ross: "Having been turned down by both Ultrazoid and Voltron, the giant ASIMO checked his RAM for a dance number he could do solo."
Josh T.: "Moments later, running ASIMO's 'Jazz Hands' script sent dancers flying hundreds of feet to their grizzly deaths."
Josh F.: "I'm crushing your head! I'm crushing your head!"
Cesar (from Zune): "I for one welcome our inflatable robot overlords. With a dance!"

ASIMO learns to understand three people at once

by Donald Melanson posted Jun 10th 2008 at 6:58PM

ASIMO has already proven itself to be pretty multi-talented, but it looks like it's now added yet another trick to its repertoire, with a pair of researchers giving it the ability to understand three people speaking at once. That was done with the aid of eight microphones and a specially-designed software program dubbed HARK, which works out where each voice is coming from and isolates it from other sounds. Right now, however, that's only being used to referee games of rock-paper-scissors, with each individual shouting out their choice at once, but the researchers eventually hope to get ASIMO up to the level of humans' ability to listen at a cocktail party, although they admit that is still a "long way" off.

Video: ASIMO burns as Yo-Yo Ma fiddles

by Thomas Ricker posted May 14th 2008 at 1:38AM

Stand down oh gentle readers and defenders of the flesh, we're getting reports from Detroit that the baton wielding ASIMO did not direct the human race to its doom. Instead, Yo-Yo Ma is safe and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra concert went off without a hitch while netting the DSO a cool million for the musical education of Grosse Pointe's children. Of course, the Honda-built robot wasn't so lucky as he got "keyed" on his walk back through the parking lot. We kid, we kid.

Update: Video added after the break.

[Thanks, Funke]

Continue reading Video: ASIMO burns as Yo-Yo Ma fiddles

Honda's ASIMO robot to conduct Yo-Yo Ma and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra

by Joshua Topolsky posted Apr 23rd 2008 at 10:57AM

One of our favorite bots, Honda's versatile ASIMO, will finally spread its wings and embrace the artistic future it's always hoped for. On May 13, the automaton will conduct the Detroit Symphony Orchestra -- and Yo-Yo Ma -- in a performance of Impossible Dream. The DSO and Honda have combined forces to bring music education to children in Detroit, and ASIMO's concert will be the launching point for a number of projects the Japanese monolith will be sponsoring in the industrial city. Sure, this isn't the first time we've seen a robot conducting an orchestra, but we're fairly confident it will be the best... provided the little guy doesn't take any bad steps.

Honda's transforming Rose Parade float in action

by Evan Blass posted Jan 2nd 2008 at 10:34AM

With all of yesterday's excitement over the availability of TV converter box coupons, we totally spaced on the annual Rose Parade, featuring that crazy ASIMO-piloted, transforming Ridgeline float from Honda. Well luckily a member of the YouTube nation was able to (rather shakily) capture a full transformation sequence on home video, which you can catch in three parts after the break. Our take? Pretty impressive for a parade float, but pit this achingly-slow changer against any one of the Decepticons in a ROBO-One-style deathmatch, and Honda would have a lot of truck-plane pieces to sweep up after the carnage.

Continue reading Honda's transforming Rose Parade float in action

Giant ASIMO replica to pilot Honda's transforming Rose Parade float

by Evan Blass posted Dec 30th 2007 at 1:48PM

Generally we're a little too, um, preoccupied on New Year's Day to bother with such trifles as opening our eyes and watching the annual Rose Parade from Pasadena, but with Honda planning an ambitious float for 2008 that will feature a gigantic ASIMO replica riding a transforming Honda Ridgeline, well, at the very least we'll be setting our DVR. According to American Honda, which provides the Tournament of Roses with hundreds of vehicles and has won numerous awards for its entries in the past, its generators will cause "the hood of the truck to fold forward to become an aircraft cockpit, the doors and sides of the truck to unfold outward to become wings, the wheels to tuck under the body, and the bed of the truck to open and take on the form of an aircraft tail section, complete with rocket engines - and even real fire." Giant robots piloting huge fire-breathing truck-planes? If this truly is a "Passport to the Future" as Honda claims, you can sign us up! Lots more pics in the gallery below, and a full seven-part, behind-the-scenes mini-documentary after the break.

Gallery: Honda's 2008 Rose Parade float

[Via The Raw Feed, photos and videos courtesy of Honda]

Continue reading Giant ASIMO replica to pilot Honda's transforming Rose Parade float

Honda's ASIMO getting more intelligent?

by Darren Murph posted Dec 11th 2007 at 2:26AM

We're not getting too hopeful about all of this just yet, but reportedly, Honda has worked a new series of "cutting-edge intelligence technologies" into ASIMO. Apparently aimed to keep the poor humanoid from tumbling down stairs, the improvements will supposedly enable it to "operate autonomously with people and other ASIMOs," essentially making it more suitable for real world use. More specifically, the new technologies include a "new system that enables multiple ASIMO humanoid robots to share tasks and work together to provide uninterrupted service to people," an automatic charging function, intelligence to avoid obstacles by stepping back or yielding to oncoming objects and the ability to "perform tasks such as carrying a tray and pushing a trolley." That sound you hear? Yeah, that's the collective grumbling of butlers / maids the world over.

[Via Pocket-Lint]

Video: Asimo's North American trade show debut

by Randall Bennett posted Jan 10th 2007 at 11:06AM

The last time we saw Asimo, it was falling down stairs. Call us sadists, but we went to Honda's press conference hoping we'd see a repeat performance from the biped. Unfortunately for us, the three-foot tall humanoid robot didn't fall over, but instead ran across stage, ran in circles and even made it up the stairs. Watch Asimo's North American trade show debut above, or download, or download below the full 13:51 movie.

[MP4] Download the movie (82.5 MB)