Honda Motor Co may have come up with the most attentive and, perhaps, honest car dealer ever in its child-size walking robot Asimo.
The 1.2m tall machine, which first went on sale two years ago, already knew how to walk, climb stairs and recognize voices. The upgraded version also understands human gestures and movement.
The robot from Japan's No. 2 automaker, shown to reporters yesterday, turns its bubble-shaped head to follow the moves of nearby people, giving it a communicative, ready-to-help appearance.
PHOTO: AFP
Asimo uses the visual information taken by a camera in its head to recognize 10 different pre-programmed faces and will call out that person's name.
"It won't follow strangers," says Honda chief engineer Yoshiaki Sakagami.
The company refuses to disclose the cost of the robot.
Honda does not plan to rent Asimo overseas but will offer the improved model for rental next year in Japan at Japanese Yen 20 million (US$162,000) a year. It now rents to seven companies in Japan.
In a demonstration at Honda headquarters in Tokyo, the new robot understood where a person is pointing and moved in that direction.
"I will go where you instruct," it said in a childish electronic voice.
If you circle your arm above your head, it understands you are calling and walks toward you. If you wave, it waves back.
Asimo -- a name based on the Japanese word for "legs" -- can stop or walk backward to avoid an approaching person. And it connects by a wireless local area network, or LAN, to a server so it can recite information about a Honda car in a showroom.
Honda officials acknowledge the robot has a long way to go before it can be a key part of the company's business. But it is an image-booster for Honda as an innovator.
Robots are popular here, where interest in gadgets tends to be high. Other Japanese companies, such as electronics and entertainment giant Sony Corp and the nation's top mobile carrier NTT DoCoMo, are working on their own human-shaped robots.
Asimo stars in TV ads for Honda cars and is a frequent guest at Honda events. It rang the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange in February.
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