There have been many developments in robotics in the last few decades. One of the most important achievement in this area is the development of Asimo by Honda. The name Asimo is an acronym for Advanced Step in Innovative Mobility. This robot has two-legs, its height is 130 centimeters and its weight is 54 kilograms. Asimo, primarily designed to look like a human being, actually looks like an astronaut with a backpack. The robot has bipedal mobility with its speed reaching up to 4.3 mph.
The creator of Asimo, Honda, is one of the premiere motor and automobile companies of Japan. It is known as one of the inspirational brands which started to work in robotics in 1986. With Asimo, the company wanted to create a product that could navigate a home environment with considerable ease. The engineers at Honda spent considerable effort developing and refining the walking mechanism of the robot. They started with box legs and gradually evolved in a much better solution. Today Asimo has a number of features making it one of the most advanced products in robotics.
First of all, Asimo has the ability to recognize moving objects. The robot uses visual data captured by a camera attached to its head. Asimo can identify any movement of most objects, identify the direction of movement and the distance covered. With this feature, Asimo gets the ability to follow a person around, mimic his/her movements and even greet someone when approached.
Another considerable achievement of Asimo is the ability to identify gestures and postures. Engineers at Honda have programmed Asimo to follow and interpret the movement and position of a hand and react appropriately based on data collected. This is where the famed ability of Asimo to shake hands comes from. If you offer a handshake or wave to Asimo, it will respond by either accepting the handshake or waving back to you. Moreover, Asimo can also recognize directions when given by pointing to a specific location.
Unlike other robots developed so far, Asimo is very less clumsy. This is because it can identify its proximity and react in a safe manner, both for itself and for any humans around. Asimo can identify potential robotic mobility hazards like stairs and avoid bumping into humans. Another special thing about Asimo is its ability to recognize sounds. Asimo can distinguish human voices from other sounds and if mapped properly, even isolate the source of that sound. Asimo can identify which person is talking to it and use its data in conjunction with its camera to reply appropriately. Using its databanks and logic processors, Asimo can easily respond to different questions, nod its head for yes or shake its head for no and can even combine a verbal answer with symbolic cue.
Thus, Asimo is certainly an unparalleled development in modern robotics which might even improve further with time.
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