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Combine this with Honda's Asimo and one of these and I'm in.

Nope - it would only be Aibos or Asimos there wouldn't it?

Or perhaps you're implying that people would fear the possibility that the Segway was actually a transforming autobot that would react rather badly to being stolen ;-)

The title of the press release is wrong. It is referencing the first RoboCup American Open which is happening this weekend.

You have already missed Neal Stephenson, but not the ASIMO demonstrations tomorrow.

Maybe we're a little behind schedule and these laser guns are a tad unrealistic, but it's really good to see there's still serious effort to make the ultimate killing machine.

Gotta give it up for Honda here too. The P-series robots are pretty slow today, but I'm shouting out mad props to that R&D effort.

Of all the tech needed in our dev plan for the first terminators, the most vaporous is still the AI, but Doug Lenat's CYC project just landed $9M in Total Information Awareness money, so I guess there's hope there too.

Well, maybe we can just skip the laser guns and go Robocop-style instead. Anything to get these things on the front-lines ASAP! There's simply too many radical war-mongering people in the world to not have a Terminators fighting for our <blink>National Security</blink>.

On a related note, Honda's Asimo is touring the US. Asimo groupies you know who you are.

Nice to know that HP's got the garage inventor thing still going on. Excellent progress. Especially considering the competition: ASIMO? Who wants a personal robot and not a blimp delivery service?

- This is supposed to be a poke at U.S. R&D.

Another deceptively simple thing is just trying to keep your balance while walking on two legs. Getting a robot to do that is not as easy as it looks in cheesy SF flicks.

This certainly reminds me of those retina-scanning, robotic spiders in Tom Cruise's "Minority Report."

Also check out this guy's company at iRobot which offers real life robotic product like the "Roomba" - a robotic vacuum cleaner.

I guess we may be only half a century away from commericialized robot similar to Honda's Asimo Humaniod.

I do remember mention of some sort of honda sporty hybrid concept car, but I can't remember any details.

Are you thinking of the Honda DUALNOTE (NorthAmericanized into the Acura DN-X)? (Although the horsepower and fuel economy values are "calculated", which presumably means "we hadn't gotten enough working as of the 2001 Tokyo Motor Show to be able to try it to see what we could get".)

I do remember mention of some sort of honda sporty hybrid concept car, but I can't remember any details.

Are you thinking of the Honda DUALNOTE (NorthAmericanized into the Acura DN-X)? (Although the horsepower and fuel economy values are "calculated", which presumably means "we hadn't gotten enough working as of the 2001 Tokyo Motor Show to be able to try it to see what we could get".)

Unfortunately these cars don't have enough "muscles" as compared to the "more traditional" gas-only cars.

Check out the concept Honda Dualnote. Hybrid, 400 HP, and 40mpg gas mileage. Sweet! Unfortunately, it doesn't sound like it will ever make it to production.

http://world.honda.com/robot/.

They've always been the answer and the more lonly people get the more strange the toys become. Soon this will be a toy that people associate with daily; either companionship or sex.

YOU HEARD IT FIRST ON SLASHDOT!

http://world.honda.com/robot/.

They've always been the answer and the more lonly people get the more strange the toys become. Soon this will be a toy that people associate with daily; either companionship or sex.

YOU HEARD IT FIRST ON SLASHDOT!

Get one of these, or one of these, both of which get over 50 MPG and have a hell of a lot more power than a Metro and its pipsqueak lawnmower engine. Plus, you get the added bonus of being an early adopter. Every geek should be driving one.

but then there are others.
There's some Quacktime and Real movies.

Interesting story.. Here's something related: Humanoid robot ASIMO designed by Honda. Check out these impressive movies (realplayer format supported) of ASIMO in action. It would be nice to have one around to clean up the flat for example ;)

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Interesting story.. Here's something related: Humanoid robot ASIMO designed by Honda. Check out these impressive movies (realplayer format supported) of ASIMO in action. It would be nice to have one around to clean up the flat for example ;)

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It's time to change the forum where us intelligent individuals talk. Take a look at the current state of Slashdot and the stories they publish on the frontpage.

..And this story about humanoid robots got rejected (by CmdrTaco):
HONDA'S HUMANOID ROBOT ASIMO MADE IT'S FIRST PUBLIC APPEARANCE:
Honda's two-year old humanoid robot Asimo made its first public appearance in Malaysia at an event launched by Science, Technology and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Law Hieng Ding here yesterday. Take a look at these impressive movies of Asimo in action!

It's time to change the forum where us intelligent individuals talk. Take a look at the current state of Slashdot and the stories they publish on the frontpage.

..And this story about humanoid robots got rejected (by CmdrTaco):
HONDA'S HUMANOID ROBOT ASIMO MADE IT'S FIRST PUBLIC APPEARANCE:
Honda's two-year old humanoid robot Asimo made its first public appearance in Malaysia at an event launched by Science, Technology and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Law Hieng Ding here yesterday. Take a look at these impressive movies of Asimo in action!

Actually...I was thinking more along the lines of RAS into the home network. Issue your "startup" command while you drive home from Dinner.

Lights come on, the heat is turned up a few notches, bath water starts running at a comfortable 106 degrees, the stereo comes on to your favorite cd...etc.

For running the space station's operations, there should be robots of some kind. They don't need to be capable of any intelligence - 'astronauts' on the ground could control them. 250 miles is pretty close for light.

You still need some humans occasionally to study zero-G physiology, but why do you need humans to move lab gear around every morning?

Yes, there would be some engineering to do, but this is the good kind of stuff to trickle down to society.

No, but we're getting better. Check out Asimo and his home page. (Yes, I submitted it. ;^)

:p

I can't wait til they merge the capabilities of GRACE into a more agile robot such as ASIMO.

Honda have spent millions on research and development of their humanoid robot [honda.com] and nasa start from scratch again with what looks like an inferior product?

Honda's robot is designed to be used on Earth. Weight isn't nearly as big a consideration for it. Neither is the need to be rad-hard, the need to tolerate micrometeorites, etc.

NASA's robot was designed from the start to be used in space. It also was designed from the start to be tool-using - its hands are a lot more dextrous than those of Asimo, and the rest of the robot's design reflects this philosophy.

i presume Honda's goals are similar to Nasa's in regards to putting robots in hostile enviroments

Not according to Honda's Asimo page. Their robot was designed to be used in human dwellings, which meshes nicely with the "robotic servants" theme that shows up in a lot of Japanese pop culture. Completely different design criteria vs. NASA's applications (NASA wants something that can build/maintain fiddly bits of the space station without requiring a human to suit up and go outside the station).

In summary, using Honda's design would not be a practical solution for NASA.

Honda have spent millions on research and development of their humanoid robot and nasa start from scratch again with what looks like an inferior product ?, Honda was at robonauts development status years ago , it seems a shame to ignore it and try to re-invent it, dont forget that they probably has more practical experience of robots in the commercial workplace than nasa do (car factories)

why dont they collaborate with people such as Honda instead of starting from scratch and wasting millions of dollars in the process ?

i presume Honda's goals are similar to Nasa's in regards to putting robots in hostile enviroments, i think its about time people took humanoid robots a bit more seriously than some do and start putting them to practical uses, sure there is the argument that they are not suited to those enviroments but hey we havent done to bad with 10 fingers 2 hands,legs and a torso and these research groups would probably agree.

if people talked to each other more on this planet maybe we would get somewhere

The Honda Civic Hybrid is a hybrid fuel vehicle (gas/electric) that looks just like a regular 2003 Honda Civic.

Now you can whine that you don't like the Civic's look, that it's too small, or whatever, but you can't whine that they're all too unconventionally styled.

The funny thing, of course, is that odds are today's hybrids are just ahead of the curve, sytle-wise. And not just for fuel economy reasons. We've been moving toward more rounded shapes for a couple decades now.

It seems like the perfect fit. As you already own an Accord, the Civic Hybrid will have the Honda quality, reliability, and fit-and-finish you already know and appreciate, and is very easy on the environment. Plus, it's much more useful than maximum-100-miles-between-8-hour-charges pure-electric vehicles.

Another alternative, and perhaps one closer in functionality to your old Accord, is the 2002 Honda Civic Hybrid:

The Honda Civic Hybrid home page

The Edmunds Review

It has four seats, four doors, gets mileage somewhere between 40-70 MPG, can get out of its own way, and is only US$20,000.

It runs on gasoline, but uses a dual electric motor/gas engine setup. So refueling will be infrequent and convenient.

Until a breakthrough in battery tech happens, this is the almost-best we can do. And you can buy it today.

According to VW's site the TDI Manual only gets 49 MPG on the highway. Here is the link to the link to the specs. While the Civic Hybrid is rated at 51 MPG on the highway. The link (pdf) to the Civic's specs is here. Neither of these compare to Insight which gets 68 MPG, according to edmund's listed specs.

Now I'm not sure how you can say that the TDI has the best mileage for any vehicle that uses fossil fuel, when, it does not get the best mileage.

It should also be noted that the Jetta TDI burns diseal fuel instead of Unleaded gasoline. I do not, however, remember if diseal or unleaded burns cleaner.

• Toyota RAV4 EV electric, zero-emission SUV
• Honda Civic Hybrid hybird ULEV (unlike the Prius and Insight, which are SULEVs)

Also, the new Civic Hybrid is a full five-passenger hybrid sedan, which really means that there's no reason anyone (who doesn't need a minivan) can't get a hybrid vehicles these days. The Prius and Insight, due to their smaller size, get better mileage, but at 45 mpg city and 50 mpg highway the Civic isn't bad either.

There's also the Civic hybrid if looks are an issue.

There's also a civic model that's a hybrid (like the insight) for 2003.

Civic Hybrid

The The Honda Civic Hybrid ? It uses gas and electric, and gets pretty sweet mileage, plus its battery is self charging....

here you go, posting anonymously cuz I dont buy into karma. pretty neat videos, CHECK OUT THE GOALIE! ha!

I'm currently in the market for a small car to use mainly for commuting to and from work, mostly highway driving. No public transportation system nearby, and a small motorcycle isn't pratical in Ohio. I looked into some of the so-called "eco-friendly" cars that are available today, but was turned-off by how ugly most of these are. So far I've found the Toyota Prius, Toyota RAV4-EV, Honda Civic Hybrid, and the Honda Insight. I understand that optimizing aerodynamics is important for efficient energy usage, but a few of these cars would be decent looking cars with a few minor changes. The Insight is very CRX-like if they got rid of the wheel covers, the Civic Hybrid looks very similar to the standard Civic except for the odd colors, the RAV4-EV uses an old body style rather than the sleek body of the r-estyled standard RAV4, and the Prius has a pretty decent style but is rather small. With only a couple thousand dollar difference between a standard small car and an "eco-friendly" model, I think there'd be increased consumer interest in these vehicles if the manufacturers focused a little more on giving these cars a more standard style that blends in a bit on the road rather than giving them an unattractive design just for the sake of making them stand out or having some space-age look to them.

So far, these things are mostly just a cool looking (not my opinion) cases for hardware. I am well satisfied with my graycolored box.

What is much more interesting is how to make these things move smoothly especially if the movement is to be done using (two) legs, is Honda still leading this area with their ASIMO humanoid robot, specifications for the bot are here. It seems like the beginnings of something real. Once they find a solution to increase the running time to 16 hours, this is something. Now it needs recharging after 15 minutes :)

So far, these things are mostly just a cool looking (not my opinion) cases for hardware. I am well satisfied with my graycolored box.

What is much more interesting is how to make these things move smoothly especially if the movement is to be done using (two) legs, is Honda still leading this area with their ASIMO humanoid robot, specifications for the bot are here. It seems like the beginnings of something real. Once they find a solution to increase the running time to 16 hours, this is something. Now it needs recharging after 15 minutes :)

So far, these things are mostly just a cool looking (not my opinion) cases for hardware. I am well satisfied with my graycolored box.

What is much more interesting is how to make these things move smoothly especially if the movement is to be done using (two) legs, is Honda still leading this area with their ASIMO humanoid robot, specifications for the bot are here. It seems like the beginnings of something real. Once they find a solution to increase the running time to 16 hours, this is something. Now it needs recharging after 15 minutes :)

• http://www.toyota.com/html/shop/vehicles/prius/ide x.html, Toyota Prius, currently available
• http://civichybrid.honda.com/, Honda Civic Hybrid, due out RSN, starting to be available for test drives
• http://www.hondacars.com/models/insight/index.html , Honda Insight, currently available
• http://rav4ev.toyota.com/, Toyota RAV4 EV (it's not a hybrid, sorry), only available in CA currently
• http://uktoyotaestimasite.tripod.com/, Toyota Estima, hybrid minivan. Not currently scheduled for release in the US
• http://hybridford.com/, Ford Escape, SUV, planned to be available in 2003. Ford licensed the Toyota HEV system for this

• http://www.ucsusa.org/vehicles/0mapveh.html, http://www.epa.gov/autoemissions/, The EPA's Clean Vehicle Guide
• http://carpoint.msn.com/browse/win_4018922.asp, http://www.cars.com/carsapp/national/?srv=parser&a ct=display&tf=/advice/bestworst/mileage/best_worst . mpl, 2002 overall fuel economy results
• http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/bestworst.shtml, Vehicle fuel economy by class
• http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/drive.shtml, Tips to improve your gas mileage
• http://www.ita.doc.gov/td/auto/cafe.html, http://www.ucsusa.org/vehicles/CAFE.html, Information about the CAFE standards
• http://www.greenercars.org/, The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE)

It may be interesting to some of you that Honda is releasing (for its 2003 model year) a hydrid version of its Honda Civic, named Honda Civic Hybrid. It is a four-door sedan with gas mileage in the upper-40s / lower-50s.

This proves that electric hydrids are not only available technologically-speaking, but that they are commercially viable. Now imagine what would happen if a tax break (perhaps coinciding with George W. Bush's huge breaks) were offered for electric hybrid vehicles. It would stimulate the economy _and_ lower taxes. Of course, the oil industry wouldn't be too happy because of lower profits. Boo-hoo. Gas mileage has been going _down_ since 1986, when it peaked in the upper-20s (about 29).

BTW, you might want to read a review of the Honda Civic.

Hybrid Electric Vehicles are neat too:

Honda Insight: 61/68mpg manual, 57/56 automatic
Toyota Prius: 52/45mpg automatic
Honda Civic Hybrid: 48/47mpg manual, 46/51 automatic

OMG the thing is ringing the opening bell for the NYSE.

Honda has had pretty decent humanoid robot prototypes since the mid 90's. They've gone through several generations, worked out a lot of the kinks, and I think 5 more years is reasonable to get them to be useful.

http://world.honda.com/robot/ (Check out the movies. Whoaaaa!)

I agree that in many factories non-humanoid robots would do the job better, but humanoid designs are incredibly useful (especially outside of the controlled factory environment) because it means they can operate in existing spaces designed for humans, use tools designed for humans, and drive vehicles designed for humans.

I must say I'm impressed with a lot of different automobile manufacturing sites, esp. Honda's, for example. They give you an in depth (typically no hype) look at the car from all angles letting you customize the car and see the net effect. Another good car site is Carmax's. The info is always very up to date, the price you get quoted IS the price, you can see the car, buy the car, have the car shipped from one carmax to another, etc. etc. I have never doubted the 'net's ability to be an excellent tool for sales. It's real downfall is the inability to "feel/hold" the product. However, if your clever about how you display and advertise your product, the web seems to be the best medium for buying products that are either unavailable locally or too expensive locally; or, as in Automobile sites, allows you to shop at home and go out more informed on what choices you may make.

And according to Honda's website, ASIMO stands for the punning Advanced Step in Innovative Mobility. I like the Asimov connection better though.

It says on the Honda site that the max it can lift with either hand is 5Kg (that's about 11lb for those of you that work at NASA). Not enough to do serious damage - and anyway, running time is only 15-25 minutes so running away is a good option.

Besides, I'm sure it follows the three laws.

This is the link to more information on the robot. http://world.honda.com/robot/

It talks about specifications... and also has a few movies clips of the robot

• Asimo
• Asimo
• Asimo Movies
• Honda P3
• Honda P3 & Asimo