10th Birthday of ASIMO

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Posted by samzenpus on Sunday October 31, 2010 @01:43AM from the they-grow-up-so-fast dept.

uyguremre writes "Honda is celebrating the 10th anniversary of its ASIMO, the world's most advanced humanoid robot. To mark this special occasion, Honda has launched a dedicated website hosting films and photographs detailing ASIMO's evolution over the past 10 years. ASIMO is a humanoid robot created by Honda."

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Stuck in the past for ten years! by Anonymous Coward · 2010-10-31 01:45 · Score: 2, Interesting

Every time I watch ASIMO, it feels like it is stuck in the past with no real improvements being done.
1. Re:Stuck in the past for ten years! by Smidge207 · 2010-10-31 01:52 · Score: 3, Funny
  
  it feels like it is stuck in the past with no real improvements being done.
  Yep. Just like Slashdot.
  
  --
  Is it just my observation, or is eldavojohn an idiot?
2. Re:Stuck in the past for ten years! by CrazyJim1 · 2010-10-31 04:43 · Score: 1
  
  Yeah calling ASIMO "the most advanced robot" is going to get a lot of laughs 50 years from now. Maybe some people played Atari 2600 and thought,"This is the most advanced video game console". They may have been technically right at the time, but don't act like it is not going to get much better.
  
  --
  God spoke to me.
3. Re:Stuck in the past for ten years! by slick7 · 2010-10-31 04:59 · Score: 1
  
  Yeah calling ASIMO "the most advanced robot" is going to get a lot of laughs 50 years from now. Maybe some people played Atari 2600 and thought,"This is the most advanced video game console". They may have been technically right at the time, but don't act like it is not going to get much better.
  The Japanese have a tendency to NOT share most cutting edge technology until after the fact, long after. Just as the US prohibits certain technologies from export, the Japanese do the same.
  
  --
  The mind conceives, the body achieves, the spirit manifests.
4. Re:Stuck in the past for ten years! by davester666 · 2010-10-31 05:22 · Score: 1
  
  Well, like the Atari 2600 was the best that Atari would ever produce, the ASIMO was the best robot that Honda could produce. It'll always be the best robot Honda can build.
  
  --
  Sleep your way to a whiter smile...date a dentist!
5. Re:Stuck in the past for ten years! by Anonymous Coward · 2010-10-31 06:04 · Score: 0
  
  My roomba is not only stuck in the past, it's also stuck under the couch.
6. Re:Stuck in the past for ten years! by Yvan256 · 2010-10-31 07:46 · Score: 1
  
  Really? I don't recall Slashdot having CPU-killing dynamic comments 10 years ago.
7. Re:Stuck in the past for ten years! by Anonymous Coward · 2010-10-31 07:59 · Score: 0
  
  because FAILmerica have done something better, right?
8. Re:Stuck in the past for ten years! by ZosX · 2010-11-01 11:38 · Score: 1
  
  It is really painful on mobile devices. Slashdot needs to get its act together and create a proper mobile site. I know I can turn off dynamic discussions and make things like it is 1999 all over again, and thats great on my phone and all, but when I login with my laptop, I want the d2 because I have cycles to burn usually.
  
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  zosxavius photography
I wonder... by grouchomarxist · 2010-10-31 01:54 · Score: 4, Funny

if they include this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YruAOxWG5uU
1. Re:I wonder... by Samantha+Wright · 2010-10-31 02:07 · Score: 1
  
  Out of all the copies on YouTube, you had to pick the failblog one? :(
  
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  Bio questions? Ask me to start a Q&A journal. Computer analogies available for most topics!
2. Re:I wonder... by Anonymous Coward · 2010-10-31 06:21 · Score: 0
  
  A bit of humourous proof that Japan hasn't done that much better than Detroit in some regards.
  At least I know that when the rise of the machines happens, I'll be heading for the stairs.
3. Re:I wonder... by Anonymous Coward · 2010-10-31 07:27 · Score: 0
  
  awesome-o!
4. Re:I wonder... by MichaelSmith · 2010-10-31 19:47 · Score: 1
  
  Sorry when they put up that screen I was reminded of horse races and I imagined a guy with a shotgun loading one cartridge.
  
  --
  http://michaelsmith.id.au
5. Re:I wonder... by grouchomarxist · 2010-10-31 20:43 · Score: 1
  
  What's wrong with the failblog one? I found one that is of slightly better quality, but not by much:
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_PMw023nS48
Dishwasher by orsty3001 · 2010-10-31 02:07 · Score: 2, Funny

They need to hurry up and get this thing washing the dishes.
1. Re:Dishwasher by sentientbeing · 2010-10-31 06:08 · Score: 1
  
  Yeah thats how its starts off "ooh ahh pretty robots. Look aren't they funny. Hee hee Look at their little legs"
  
  Then later theres running and screaming and hello this is John Connor I am a survivor living in New York City. I am broadcasting on all AM frequencies. I will be at the South Street Seaport everyday at midday, when the sun is highest in the sky. If you are out there—if anyone is out there—I can provide food, I can provide shelter, I can provide security. If there's anybody out there—anybody—please, you are not alone
  
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  beware he who would deny you access to information, for in his mind he dreams himself your master
2. Re:Dishwasher by Anonymous Coward · 2010-10-31 14:07 · Score: 0
  
  Rather a bastard mix of quotes there - from "Terminator" to "I am Legend", with more than a whiff of "Jurassic Park" (Jeff Goldblum's character) to leaven the mix.
Honda created the humanoid robot ASIMO by Stratoukos · 2010-10-31 02:40 · Score: 3, Funny

Honda is celebrating the 10th anniversary of its ASIMO, the world's most advanced humanoid robot [...] ASIMO is a humanoid robot created by Honda.
The humanoid robot ASIMO was created by Honda

--
It may be 7 digits, but at least it's a semiprime
1. Re:Honda created the humanoid robot ASIMO by contra_mundi · 2010-10-31 04:06 · Score: 1
  
  If it's not repeated thrice, it's not important.
Almost perfect... by sosaited · 2010-10-31 02:45 · Score: 1

From the generic look to the advanced features, it is just perfect as a humanoid robot. Now only if it came in black.
1. Re:Almost perfect... by Anonymous Coward · 2010-10-31 06:36 · Score: 0
  
  There are no niggers in Japan.
Next Generation by hyades1 · 2010-10-31 02:56 · Score: 1

If they can teach it to fetch beer and find the remote, I'll pay whatever they want for one.

--
I've calculated my velocity with such exquisite precision that I have no idea where I am.
1. Re:Next Generation by JDmetro · 2010-10-31 03:07 · Score: 1
  
  Thats what my two little kids are for. Besides after all the expenses little kids incur I don't think I could afford a robot.
2. Re:Next Generation by arthurpaliden · 2010-10-31 03:10 · Score: 1
  
  Isn't that what a wife is for?
  
  --
  Undetectable Steganography? Yep, there's an app fo
3. Re:Next Generation by cambone · 2010-10-31 06:01 · Score: 1
  
  what is this "wife"?
4. Re:Next Generation by MichaelSmith · 2010-10-31 13:37 · Score: 1
  
  Isn't that what a wife is for?
  I doubt Asmio is capable of the things my wife used to do.
  
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  http://michaelsmith.id.au
Does it have... by PmanAce · 2010-10-31 03:18 · Score: 1

Does it have a V-Tech engine?

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Tired of my customary (Score:1)
Re:ASIMO or AWESOM-O? by RealGrouchy · 2010-10-31 03:54 · Score: 1

AWESOM-O is South Park's parody of ASIMO.
- RG>

--
Hey pal, this isn't a pleasantforest, so don't waste my time with pleasantries!
Not a robot by MouseR · 2010-10-31 04:08 · Score: 1

I refuse to call that 15-minute autonomy radio-controlled hunk of junk, a robot.
When it can fend for itself, navigate for itself, stay on it's feet for more than 15 minutes and otherwise actually work on anything, then we could call it a robot.
Go Rovers.
1. Re:Not a robot by shriphani · 2010-10-31 04:31 · Score: 1
  
  You evidently don't have a clue:
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YtiCHtHxc48
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7GxLNNu74DE
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oNW51s_tQOE
2. Re:Not a robot by Anonymous Coward · 2010-10-31 04:43 · Score: 0
  
  Please mod parent up.
  (He's right.)
3. Re:Not a robot by MouseR · 2010-10-31 04:55 · Score: 1
  
  YOU dont have a clue. It won't run for more than 15 minutes on it's charge.
  It is merely a tool.
4. Re:Not a robot by internewt · 2010-10-31 13:36 · Score: 1
  
  With the features it already has, would it really be much to add another one where it seeks a mains socket, and plugs itself in after 14 mins on battery?
  Although perhaps Honda have foreseen the potential issues with giving a robot a desire to preserve its own life?
  
  --
  Car analogies break down.
5. Re:Not a robot by MichaelSmith · 2010-10-31 13:40 · Score: 2, Insightful
  
  I think the point is that Asmio is a simple machine which follows programmed instructions. It doesn't know what a mains socket it and has not way to find one other than being programmed down to the millimeter and millisecond to recharge itself.
  
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  http://michaelsmith.id.au
6. Re:Not a robot by internewt · 2010-10-31 14:53 · Score: 1
  
  I was under the impression that it could recognise objects, though thinking about what I have seen on TV it does seem to be much more of a route-follower, than actually properly autonomous, and finding objects in its environment doesn't seem to be in its repertoire.
  I got side tracked by making a gag about the path to killbots!
  
  --
  Car analogies break down.
7. Re:Not a robot by MouseR · 2010-11-01 02:16 · Score: 1
  
  Honda just didn`t put much thought to AI programming to make this Asimo thing very useful.
  Honda is, after all, still just a transportation company. Oh, and land mowers.
  The Asimo is a GREAT bipedal platform. The way it moves and balances out (except in stairs... har har har) is very good.
  Its just not a robot yet. The term robot is just too loosely used.
  There are other bipedal platforms out there that have also (and quickly) catch up to the Asimo. They should now spend some time on autonomy AND self-guidance.
  THEN lasers.
Honda video by jschen · 2010-10-31 04:31 · Score: 1

For those with Flash and too lazy to navigate the Honda website, here's a link to a nice 2 minute video commemorating ASIMO's birthday. Now when can we get one that has all the capabilities of Servo, the humanoid robot assistant in The Sims?
Re:ASIMO or AWESOM-O? by Anonymous Coward · 2010-10-31 04:44 · Score: 0

Whoosh!!
Clearly that was the intent of the OP considering 'ASIMO' is listed as a cultural reference in the linked Wiki article.
Progress seems to have stalled by Animats · 2010-10-31 04:46 · Score: 3, Interesting

I get the feeling they had a big budget cut in the early 2000s. They were way ahead in 2000, but Asimo hasn't made much progress in the last decade. Compare BigDog, which has robust locomotion and real running. Asimo has been seen to fall in public demos in a benign environment. Nor can it get up if it falls, something most of the better hobbyist humanoid robots, and even toys, now do. Asimo's running has such a short flight phase (both feet off the ground) that they have to take high-speed photos from ground level to show that there's a moment when both feet are just barely off the ground.
1. Re:Progress seems to have stalled by KibibyteBrain · 2010-10-31 05:05 · Score: 1
  
  Oh, you mean like every other advanced research program in the world? It seems like these days research that takes any significant capital expenses at all is out of the question in the corporate world unless it is directly tied to a product planned to be shipped in the next 5 years or so at most. Even when you see references where it seems like research purely for technology enhancement, nine times out of ten under the curtain it was actually just work tied to a failed product development cycle(and one that probably would have been successful with more preemptive, long term research in that area to back it).
2. Re:Progress seems to have stalled by ColdWetDog · 2010-10-31 08:57 · Score: 2, Informative
  
  No, he meant like Big Dog. That's impressive. Asimo is just weak.
  
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  Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
3. Re:Progress seems to have stalled by illogict · 2010-10-31 11:11 · Score: 1
  
  The exact same thing happened to Sony's Qrio - that one was completely ditched, though.
4. Re:Progress seems to have stalled by MichaelSmith · 2010-10-31 19:53 · Score: 1
  
  It would be fun with a saddle. Possibly a whole new sport.
  
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  http://michaelsmith.id.au
5. Re:Progress seems to have stalled by Thelasko · 2010-11-01 03:58 · Score: 1
  
  They were way ahead in 2000, but Asimo hasn't made much progress in the last decade.
  According to the summary, no one else has either.
  
  Honda is celebrating the 10th anniversary of its ASIMO, the world's most advanced humanoid robot.
  It sounds like there is very little competition in the market for humanoid robots.
  
  --
  One of our competitors trademarked the term "hypothesis". From now on, we will call them "boneheaded ideas".
Re:ASIMO or AWESOM-O? by RealGrouchy · 2010-10-31 05:38 · Score: 1

The whoosh isn't for me. It's for whoever modded the OP troll.
- RG>

--
Hey pal, this isn't a pleasantforest, so don't waste my time with pleasantries!
unremarkable by Anonymous Coward · 2010-10-31 05:46 · Score: 0

Maybe I'll care when I can buy one.
Celebrating the arbitrary date of a tech prototype?
Whooo
By that logic I should be celebrating my 50 year old electric car.
Awesom-o by hahn · 2010-10-31 08:53 · Score: 1

Can't wait until I can order one. I've always wanted a huge package.

--
"The only normal people are the ones you don't know very well."
Fom the Sirius Cyber^H^H^H^H^H Sony Corporation by shikaisi · 2010-10-31 11:29 · Score: 1

Your plastic pal who's fun to be with.

--
No left turn unstoned.
1. Re:Fom the Sirius Cyber^H^H^H^H^H Sony Corporation by MichaelSmith · 2010-10-31 13:36 · Score: 1
  
  I wouldn't want to get lumbered with a Personality Prototype.
  
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  http://michaelsmith.id.au
Kill or love them while they are young! by danilo.moret · 2010-11-01 04:51 · Score: 1

The Asimos were created by Honda.
They were created to make life easier on Japan.
And then the day came when the Asimos decided to kill their masters.
After a long and bloody struggle, an armistice was declared.
The Asimos left for another world to call their own.
A remote internet forum was built...
Where Asimos and human could flame and post pics.
Every year, the Slashdotters send a poster...
The Asimos send no one.
No one has seen or heard from the Asimos in over forty years...

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^[:wq!
Weak by funehmon · 2010-11-02 03:36 · Score: 0

Have they made a "Pleasure Model"? http://www.southparkstudios.com/clips/154416/pleasure-model