Sunday, November 30, 2008

Honda ASIMO






Finally, my time came to experience the much talked about ASIMO last night. Hubby brought me, James, Lucas and our maid along to Queensbay Mall last night to catch the last interaction & performance session with ASIMO for yesterday. Shawn was with my IL's, and had his opportunity to experience ASIMO on last Friday (a day ahead before all of us).

Well, ASIMO stands at 130cm tall and was invented with the i-Walk technology that enables him to walk in any direction, predicting his next movements in real time and shifting his centre of gravity in anticipation. ASIMO can even smoothly shift direction while walking or running (isn't that amazing?)

ASIMO's body is made of magnesium alloy covered with a plastic resin, which makes ASIMO very durable and lightweight, which weighs just 54kg (geez.. lighter than some of us).

What amazes me is ASIMO's sensors. ASIMO has four ultrasonic sensors which are located below his backpack. These sensors detect stationary and moving objects within a 3m range around ASIMO's sides and back.

The best part is when ASIMO knows how to wave to you in return when he sees you waving at him. Isn't modern technology an eye-opening experience? Well, to me it was a moment to share the dream which the Honda engineers had.

Somewhere within ASIMO
In the pursuit of advanced mobility, Honda engineers have dreamt of creating an intelligent multifunctional machine. And what began as a dream has today evolved into a new possible partner for people in the future.

It took 22 years of painstaking research and development to create ASIMO. This extraordinary feat in the field of robotics opened doors to new possibilities in mobility for the future. Although considered extremely difficult at the time, Honda set themselves on this ambitious goal to revolutionise technology and create a Humanoid robot, which is able to function well in society.


With a "challenging spirit", Honda's R&D for ASIMO continues. ASIMO is yet another achievement showcasing Honda's determination and belief in the Power of Dreams, and they are another step closer in turning this and their other dreams into reality.

2 comments:

Bonnie said...

no pictures?? hehe..

add u to my blogroll okay?

Eirin said...

to Bonnie: Apologise.. was too excited to blog about my experience with ASIMO that I missed out putting in some pictures. I didn't had time to take any pictures at the time as I was busy filming ASIMO's actions live *grinned sheepishly*