11 ASIMO and learnings from it

 

The Honda Motor Company developed ASIMO, which stands for “Advanced Step in Innovative Mobility”, and is the most advanced humanoid robot in the world. According to the ASIMO Web site, ASIMO is the first humanoid robot in the world that can walk independently and climb stairs.

It was created by Honda in 2000. By 2002, there were 20 units of the first ASIMO model produced; three different ASIMO models subsequently followed. As of February 2009, there were over 100 ASIMO units in existence.

In July of 2018, Honda stated that it would be ceasing all development and production of ASIMO robots in order to focus on more practical applications using the technology developed through ASIMO's lifespan. It made its last active appearance in March 2022, as Honda announced the retirement of ASIMO to concentrate on remote-controlled, avatar-style robotic technology.

ASIMO stood 130 cm (4 ft 3 in) tall and weighed 54 kg (119 lb). Research conducted by Honda found that the ideal height for a mobility assistant robot was between 120 cm and the height of an average adult, which was conducive to operating door knobs and light switches. ASIMO was powered by a rechargeable 51.8 V lithium-ion battery with an operating time of one hour. Switching from a nickel–metal hydride battery in 2004 increased the amount of time ASIMO can operate before recharging. The computer that controlled ASIMO's movement was housed in the robot's waist area and could be controlled by a PC, wireless controller or voice commands.

The 3 key functions were:

·         “Move around while sharing the same space with people,” which includes moving among people and not falling over when bumped into by a person.

·         “Perform tasks by using hands.”

·         “Interact with people,” including understanding spoken words and controlling movement/behavior according to the estimated intention of nearby people.

While the world has moved from ASIMO to AIBO to KISMET, the research on ASIMO remains paramount in the area of robotics for all time to come.



 

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

9 Extremophile

 The simplest definition of “extremophile” is an organism that thrives in extreme biotic environmental condition. To put it simply: it is an organism that is tolerant to environmental extremes and that has evolved to grow optimally under one or more of these extreme conditions, hence the suffix ‘phile’:, meaning “one who loves.” Conditions covered include high or low temperature, pressure, acidity, alkalinity, salinity, or desiccation; or in the presence of organic solvents, heavy metals, normally toxic substances, or radiation. These organisms are dominants in the evolutionary history of our planet. Dating back to more than 40 million years, they have continued to thrive in the most extreme conditions naming them one of the most abundant lifeforms. Earth is graced with such places which exhibit these extremes and surprisingly, we find life in these places; glaciers, volcanic areas, desert, deep water vents, hot water springs, deep sea and the poles. They are available in all forms...
Read more

6. When the world was divided into two

In today’s world, we talk of the economic powers of the Chinese, Americans, the British and some G7 / G8 nations. Like many Indians, I have also been influenced by the political power of the British who ruled the sub-continent; infact, we look upon Britishers to be the biggest colonizers. While doing my research on historical trivia, I came across a strange Treaty which blows up our conventional thinking towards colonialism. More than five centuries ago, the world was divided by an imaginary line between two super-powers of that time i.e Spain and Portugal (represented by King Ferdinand II of Aragon and Queen Isabella I of Castile for Spain and King John II of Portugal). Yes, On June 7, 1494, the governments of Spain and Portugal agreed to the Treaty of Tordesillas, which divided their spheres of influence in the "New World" of the Americas. Do not go by the size of Portugal as we see on the map today. By size, it is smaller than the state of Bihar. Then, it had infl...
Read more