Asimo Views
ASIMO was created at Honda's Research & Development Wako Fundamental Technical Research Center in Japan. It is the current model in a line of twelve that began in 1986 with E0. ASIMO resembles a child in size and is the most human-like robot HONDA has made so far. The robot has 7 DOF (Degrees of freedom) in each arm — two joints of 3 DOF, shoulder and wrist, giving Six degrees of freedom and 1 DOF at the elbow; 6 DOF in each leg — 3 DOF at the crotch, 2 DOF at the ankle and 1 DOF at the knee; and 3 DOF in the neck joint. The hands have 2 DOF — 1 DOF in each thumb and 1 in each finger. This gives a total of 34 DOF in all joints.[2]
The name is an acronym for Advanced Step in Innovative MObility . Online magazine, The Future Of Things (TFOT), states that Honda did not name the robot in reference to science fiction writer and inventor of the Three Laws of Robotics, Isaac Asimov.[3] The name ASIMO is also a pun meaning “feet, too”. アシ (ashi) is commonly translated as “feet” but can also refer to the lower leg from the knee down and モ (mo) is a particle meaning “also” or “too”, thus ASIMO (アシモ ashimo) roughly translated can mean “it has feet, too” as is appropriate for a robot with legs. The transliteration of アシモ as “asimo” uses the Kunrei system of romanization rather than the more familiar Hepburn system of romanization which renders it as “ashimo”. In both cases it should be pronounced “ah she mow” to match the original Japanese pronunciation.
Many of us grew up watching robots on TV and in the movies: There was Rosie, the Jetsons' robot housekeeper; Data, the android crewmember on M"Star Trek: The Next Generationn"; and of course, C3PO from "Star Wars.n" The robots being created today aren't quite in the realm of Data or C3PO, but there have been some amazing advances in their technology. Honda engineers have been busy creating the ASIMO robot for more than 20 years. In this article, we'll find out what makes ASIMO the most advanced humanoid robot to date.
Can't be Too Careful It has been reported that because ASIMO's walk is so eerily human-like, Honda engineers felt compelled to visit the Vatican just to make sure it was okay to build a machine that was so much like a human. (The Vatican thought it was okay.) The Honda Motor Company developed ASIMO, which stands for Advanced Step in Innovative Mobility, and is the most advanced humanoid robot in the world. According to the ASIMO Web site, ASIMO is the first humanoid robot in the world that can walk independently and climb stairs.
Asimo Images
