Toyota Motor Corp took one giant leap for robot-kind by launching the first humanoid robot into space to converse with astronauts. Now, it is taking one small step toward commercializing robots for the masses.
Japan’s largest automaker is to begin selling a 10cm tall talking robot called Kirobo Mini across Japan early next year. Priced at ￥39,800 (US$393) and small enough to fit into a car cup holder, Toyota is billing Kirobo as capable of responding to human emotions while engaging in conversation and moving its head and hands.
Toyota is to position Kirobo as a communication partner developed for companionship just as surveys of Japanese consumers show a declining affinity for automobiles. One poll by Japan’s automakers association released in April found about 30 percent of respondents under age 30 had no interest in cars at all.
Photo: Reuters
The Toyota City, Japan-based automaker will try to leverage Kirobo’s capabilities to help make driving safer. The robot may shout “Oops!” when its owner slams on the brakes, start speaking to perk up a sleepy driver, and offer praise once it has arrived home after a long drive. Kirobo connects via Bluetooth to a smartphone app costing users ￥300 per month.
Toyota has pledged US$1 billion in investment over five years toward an artificial intelligence and robotics institute that is leading research efforts on areas including autonomous driving.
The funding going to the Toyota Research Institute is equal to what the company spent developing the first Prius hybrid, president Akio Toyoda said during a speech at the Paris Motor Show last week.
Kirobo is to start selling in Japan roughly a year and a half after Softbank Corp’s Pepper robot, which initially cost ￥198,000 along with a ￥14,800 per month service plan that gave users access to cloud-based voice recognition and an app store.
A larger version of Kirobo spent 18 months on board the International Space Station on a journey that ended in February last year.
Before returning to Earth, Kirobo became the first robot to speak in space, including with Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata.
Intel Corp chief executive officer Lip-Bu Tan (陳立武) is expected to meet with Taiwanese suppliers next month in conjunction with the opening of the Computex Taipei trade show, supply chain sources said on Monday. The visit, the first for Tan to Taiwan since assuming his new post last month, would be aimed at enhancing Intel’s ties with suppliers in Taiwan as he attempts to help turn around the struggling US chipmaker, the sources said. Tan is to hold a banquet to celebrate Intel’s 40-year presence in Taiwan before Computex opens on May 20 and invite dozens of Taiwanese suppliers to exchange views
Application-specific integrated circuit designer Faraday Technology Corp (智原) yesterday said that although revenue this quarter would decline 30 percent from last quarter, it retained its full-year forecast of revenue growth of 100 percent. The company attributed the quarterly drop to a slowdown in customers’ production of chips using Faraday’s advanced packaging technology. The company is still confident about its revenue growth this year, given its strong “design-win” — or the projects it won to help customers design their chips, Faraday president Steve Wang (王國雍) told an online earnings conference. “The design-win this year is better than we expected. We believe we will win
Quanta Computer Inc (廣達) chairman Barry Lam (林百里) is expected to share his views about the artificial intelligence (AI) industry’s prospects during his speech at the company’s 37th anniversary ceremony, as AI servers have become a new growth engine for the equipment manufacturing service provider. Lam’s speech is much anticipated, as Quanta has risen as one of the world’s major AI server suppliers. The company reported a 30 percent year-on-year growth in consolidated revenue to NT$1.41 trillion (US$43.35 billion) last year, thanks to fast-growing demand for servers, especially those with AI capabilities. The company told investors in November last year that
Power supply and electronic components maker Delta Electronics Inc (台達電) yesterday said it plans to ship its new 1 megawatt charging systems for electric trucks and buses in the first half of next year at the earliest. The new charging piles, which deliver up to 1 megawatt of charging power, are designed for heavy-duty electric vehicles, and support a maximum current of 1,500 amperes and output of 1,250 volts, Delta said in a news release. “If everything goes smoothly, we could begin shipping those new charging systems as early as in the first half of next year,” a company official said. The new
RSS