subject: The Newest Human-like Robots Their Abilities And Perspectives [print this page] Robots are not only the subject of science fiction nowadays. They are being, slowly, but surely, introduced into all spheres of life. Androids are, probably, the most interesting type of robots. Since the idea of a robot appeared in science fiction, engineers and designers wanted to build a robot that would be able to move like a human.
ASIMO
Honda ASIMO is the most popular robot today. This android has survived four modifications within 13 years. The latest ASIMO P4 can study the environment, understand human speech, browse the internet and find useful information and latest news. It may have some other unexpected abilities. The representatives of Honda have not yet revealed all the secrets.
PR2
Android PR2, constructed by Willow Garage Team, constantly learns new skills. The engineers of Willow Garage program it to fetch beer from a fridge, play the piano and even play billiard. The robot copes with all tasks well but still lacks speed. It moves too slowly. Probably, later modifications will improve this disadvantage.
BHR-2
The specialists of Beijing Polytechnic College have presented Beijing Humanoid Robot (BHR-2, also called Huitong). Their product resembles ASIMO by its appearance and has 32 degrees of freedom. During the presentation, Huitong demonstrated the traditional sword fight and some exercises with a sword.
Mahru
Mahru is a Korean android, created in KIST institute. This human-like robot is capable of copying human movement. An operator wears a special sensor suit that reads his/her movements and sends them to the robot. The latest model of Mahru uses a set of cameras to read the operators movements, instead of the sensor suit.
Geminoid-F
Biologically inspired robots are considered the top of modern robot building. Hiroshi Ishiguro from Osaka designed a robot that looks exactly like a real human. Geminoid-F is a copy of a real woman, capable of imitating human mimics and emotions. The robot may even demonstrate slight shades of emotions.
