Honda robot developments could bolster nuke cleanup

Honda robot developments could bolster nuke cleanup

Honda Motor Co.'s revamped human-shaped robot "Asimo" hops on two legs during a news conference at the Japanese automaker's research facility in Wako, near Tokyo, Tuesday. Asimo can now run faster, balance itself on uneven surfaces, hop on one foot, pour a drink and even almost "think" on its own.

WAKO, Japan — Honda Motor Co.’s human-shaped robot can now run faster, balance itself on uneven surfaces, hop on one foot, and pour a drink. Some of its technology may even be used to help with cleanup operations at the stricken Fukushima nuclear plant.

Honda’s demonstration of the revamped “Asimo” on Tuesday at its research facility was not only to prove that the machine was more limber and a bit smarter.

It was a way to try to answer some critics that Asimo, first shown in 2000, had been of little practical use so far, proving to be nothing more than a glorified toy and cute showcase for the Honda brand.

Honda President Takanobu Ito said some of Asimo’s technology was used to develop a robotic arm in just six months with the intention of helping with the nuclear crisis in northeastern Japan.

According to Honda, the mechanical arm can open and close valves at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, which went into meltdown after the March tsunami. The automaker is working with the utility behind the plant, Tokyo Electric Power Co., to try to meet demands to bring the plant under control.

Mr. Ito acknowledged that the first idea was to send in Asimo to help out, but that was not possible because the robot cannot maneuver in rubble, and its delicate computer parts would malfunction in radiation.

But in Tuesday’s demonstration, Asimo was able to walk without falling over 0.8 inch bumps on the floor.

Asimo can now jog faster than it did in 2005, at 5.6 mph, instead of the earlier 3.7 mph.

Asimo also was able to distinguish the voices of three people spoken at once, using face recognition and analyzing sound, to figure out that one woman wanted hot coffee, another orange juice, and still another milk tea.

The new Asimo has improved hands as well, allowing individual movement of each finger.

It also opened a thermos bottle and gracefully poured juice into a paper cup.

Mr. Ito said Asimo had developed autonomous artificial intelligence so that it could potentially maneuver itself through crowds of people, without remote control or stopping each time to check on its programming.

But he said making robotics into a practical business will take more time, meaning Asimo wasn’t about to show up in any home soon.

“Maybe at the start this was a dream of engineers to make a machine that was close to a human being, like Astro Boy,” he said. “We think Asimo is good.”