And again, Japan is ahead of the rest in terms of developing the latest technology. In 2000, the ASIMO robot was presented to the public, an android that can move independently, distinguish people's faces and work on the network. In 2009, those who wish could acquire this property of science for personal use, that is, rent it. The article will tell you more about a person’s new friend.
How it all began?
For the first time, the idea of creating a humanoid robot came to the developers of the Japanese company Honda. The ASIMO robot was created as an assistant for humans, and the first prototype of the modern ASIMO appeared in the 80s of the last century. After the Honda company has established itself in the automotive market and has taken a leading position, she drew attention to the still untouched area of activity - the creation of a humanoid android robot that would move on two legs.
The main idea was not to create a simple machine, but to reproduce a mechanism that can think, perform simple actions and help people.
History of creation
Scientists have suggested that for normal interaction with humans, a robot must not only be able to independently move on a flat surface, but also use a ladder and not lose stability in a wider range of conditions. Therefore, its shape is humanoid, which helps to perfectly master the technology of walking.
20 years ago, creating such a robot was a difficult and time-consuming task, but Honda was able to cope with it. In 1986, the first ASIMO robot model was introduced. He knew how to walk, however, only on a flat surface and rather slowly (1 step with a stop for 5 seconds). To improve speed, scientists have specially developed the technology of "dynamic walking". And in December 2004 there was an innovative breakthrough in the Honda company - the ASIMO robot (whose photo can be seen in the article) began to run. Already in 2011, the updated version of the robot was equipped with the world's first technology of autonomous behavior control.
Specifications
If we compare the features of the ASIMO 2000 robot and the latest model, it is impossible not to notice a dramatic breakthrough. In 2000, a 52 kg sample was introduced. Its height was 120 cm, and its width was 45 cm. He walked at a speed of 1.6 km / h. He could not run. He worked on a nickel hydride battery for about 30 minutes. There were 26 degrees of freedom, that is, a set of independent trajectories of movements.
The latter model has significant differences. Her weight decreased by 2 kilograms, while growth increased by 10 centimeters. Walking speed began to be almost 3 km (2.7 km) / h. The 2014 robot can run, while developing a speed of 7 km / h. It has 57 degrees of freedom and can work for more than an hour without recharging.
Functionality
ASIMO robot has a wide range of various functions:
- Recognition of objects . Thanks to the built-in video camera, the robot can monitor the moving objects that surround it.
- Understands gestures. The latter model correctly interprets gestures. Can shake hands in greeting or say goodbye.
- Recognizes the environment. The robot moves safely for itself and others. He understands what a step is, and he won’t fall from it, he will also effortlessly bypass a person who has stopped in his way.
- Works with sounds. 8 microphones are connected to the head and body of the robot, connected to the HARK system. It can recognize sounds with 80% accuracy. Moreover, ASIMO is able to recognize three streams of speech, that is, to understand what three people are talking about at the same time (by the way, this ability is not available to everyone). The robot easily determines where the sound came from, distinguishes voices, separating human speech from other sources of noise. The robot also responds to its name, turns its head to the interlocutor, and also responds to sounds that carry alarm or danger.
- Recognition of appearance. Among other things, the robot can recognize familiar faces. Now he is able to recognize about 15 faces, but as soon as he recognizes a person, he immediately addresses him by name.
Commercial issue
ASIMO Japanese robot can connect to a local network. He is able to inform the owner about the visitors and escort them directly to him. However, such an indispensable assistant is not yet available. For the period of 2009, there were only 100 robots. The production cost of each ASIMO is about $ 1 million.
Each robot is painstaking manual work, and while the Honda company does not set itself the goal of mass production of androids on the market. But such a handsome man can be rented. The cost of 30-day use is 14 thousand dollars.
Best helper
Today, ASIMO is able to carry and serve things, push the cart in the supermarket, serve drinks (in particular, it can make tea on its own) and open the door. The robot is perfectly balanced, so do not worry that it will spill or beat something before reaching the destination. Light indicators mounted in the "chest" will always remind you of the state of the assistant and how much more he can work. The robot is controlled through a portable controller.
At Honda, intelligence is defined as the ability to perform certain actions by collecting and analyzing information. Based on this concept, the ASIMO robot artificial intelligence was created (photos are presented in the article). The advanced intellectual and physical capabilities of the humanoid android are amazing. And although it will take more than a decade to create a self-functioning artificial intelligence with many functions, Japan has already taken the first steps in this field of research.