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Honda Updates ASIMO
kosmicki writes "Honda Motor Co. today announced the development of new technologies for the next-generation ASIMO humanoid robot, targeting a new level of mobility that will better enable ASIMO to function and interact with people by quickly processing information and acting more nimbly in real-world environments."
sensors in the wrists to give people objects seems a bit like cheeting.
if they want to make it seem more 'human' then get it to track the person it's interacting withs face with its head. that would up the realism heaps.
Does the ASIMO actually advance the field of robotics? Does it come out with revolutionary advances, or just build on those of others?
I don't mean to take anything away from the ASIMO, it's pretty slick, but is it a beacon or a distraction for "real" robotics?
movement of new asimo looks very fluid. check out him running and chasing a Japanese chick. it is incredible. this made me wonder if someone would begin using robots in the medical field in the next decade or so.
see here although It may just be a name now.
There is also a time line for ASIMO at Honda.co.jp(japanese) but you can see a graphical history of it here
The routine was preprogrammed and triggered remotely from backstage over a broadband wireless connection. Everything was scripted - the floor was plastered in tape to help the human actors perform correctly. A few of the markers were triggers for ASIMO to orient itself with before demonstrating an action. It was explained to the crowd that some half-dozen technicians were working backstage, keeping the thing going the whole time.
Now, many of the feats (climbing stairs, walking across a see saw, walking in circles, bracing for a fall) were calculated on the fly by ASIMO. You have to give Honda credit for succeeding in that, but overall ASIMO is just an overblown animatronic puppet.
At least half a year ago, I saw a video of ASIMO jogging. Although the jogging was a joke as a mode of locomotion, it was an interesting demonstration of balance. My question is, how much has ASIMO changed since then? The video of the new ASIMO running looks suspiciously similar to the old one. I have the feeling that this "next-generation" ASIMO is far more capable than these new video demonstrations convey.
And what makes you think ASIMO represents "world leadership" in humanoid robotics?
From a scientific point of view, ASIMO is an expensive glitzy remote-controlled toy that doesn't tell us much at all about humanoid (as in fluent and efficient) sensorimotor coordination. Take humanoid locomotion: it's based on coupled oscillator dynamics, and letting the physics of the body do much of the work for you. ASIMO doesn't do that at all.
For an example of real "world leadership" in robot (in this case: quadruped) locomotion, check out these videos. Less glitzy but way more interesting.
The most amusing aspect of an ASIMO demo is (or at least used to be last time I watched) the half-dozen Japanese engineers hovering nearby in order to fling themselves under their million-dollar toy in case it should keel over.
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Qrio is just a step up from Aibo, though...I've actually worked with AIBO (development for my senior yr CS project - all the APIs are written in C++!). It was pretty decent. I think Sony and Honda are approaching the issue from different angles though - if you check out Honda's site, you'll see that they've been working on 'walking' bots for while now, where as Sony kind of started out with other stuff..
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