VIDEO: Honda's Upgraded "ASIMO" Robot, is Faster and Smarter but, Still Won't Scare Sarah Connor ;)

Honda's been Working on its "ASIMO" Robot for the Better Part of 2 Decades but, Only Now, is it Finally Beginning to Look like a Useful Project. The Latest Version of the Droid, Similar to the One we Saw 2 Years Ago, Comes with a Raft of Physical Improvements, including New Legs that'll Cope with Uneven Terrain, Walk Backwards and Even Run at Speeds of Nearly 6 Miles an Hour. Then there are the Redesigned Hands, which Now Have 13 Degrees of Freedom, Enabling the 'bot to Hold and Manipulate Objects without Crushing or Dropping them. It's Not just Physical Improvements either, since Honda has also been Working Hard on "ASIMO's" Artificial Intelligence.


For Instance, the Machine Can Walk Around without the Aid of an Operator and Can Observe Human Behavior and Predict the Outcome. That Means that, if "ASIMO" Sees Someone Hurtling Down the Corridor, it Can Work Out that it Needs to Move Out of the Way. The Droid is also Capable of Picking Out Multiple Voices and Faces from Crowds and Identifying Multiple Voices When they're All Talking at Once. Even More Impressively, however, is that, the Automaton Can Even Communicate in Sign Language Thanks in Part, to those Redesigned Hands. The Only Question that Remains, of Course is, if we'd Take One of these over SoftBank's Pepper ? We Know that, the Rival Device is Nowhere Near as Useful but, you Have to Admit, it is a Lot Cuter.




Info Sources:

http://newsroom.honda.co.uk/en/corporatepresspackdetail/?id=4152&mode=image

http://www.pocket-lint.com/news/129907-honda-s-latest-asimo-robot-can-now-run-5-6-mph-and-even-predict-your-behaviour

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_kzgk4Rnpqc