Control Engineering

Paul Grayson

People and Robots
March 31, 2008

Future Photo: Comparitive Robot Anatomy, RS-101

The purpose of Honda's ASIMO series of robots is to educate the public about what the capabilities of humanoid robots are and to educate the researchers about the design and operation of such machines.  This is a chance for Honda to get not burn-in-hours, but burn-in-years before the commercial introduction of this new consumer product.  I spoke with the PR rep at Honda USA, Alecia Jones, she said that while she is not in any of the publicity photos, she did get to travel with ASIMO around the country a little bit.  She was at the Kennedy Center performance - this was the first time that any of the ASIMOs were in Washington, DC.   The ASIMOs have spent the past few years traveling around the USA with the "Say Hello To ASIMO" show.  You probably didn't see it, it visited high schools, science museums, and colleges before finally settling down to its permanent location The ASIMO Theater in Disneyland.


Honda Photo: Fans helped welcome ASIMO to its new home inside Disneyland.

Honda has a permanent show at Disneyland called "Say hello to Honda's ASIMO" that is fifteen minutes long and runs continuiously.  It is a live demonstration of what the ASIMO series can do and is said to be quite entertaining for all age groups.  It is public exposure like this that is going to break the ice and warm the public up to the idea of integrating humaniod robots into society's fabric, a generation from now.  It will be when the kids of today have taken over the reins of power and have become the establishment and to whom humanoid robots are familiar that the robots will finally become a consumer product.  The ASIMO design represents 20 years of development at Honda, while they are in a hurry to improve the design, they are in no hurry to start producing it for sale.

Two ASIMOs working together in coordination to deliver refreshments.

In fact the idea of selling these robots may be part of an old and out of date business model.  The impression I have gotten from talking to a variety of people about the ASIMO design and the earlier P-3 design was that Honda will never sell their robots, that they will forever be the property of the Honda Motor Company and that you will hire them to work for you much like you contract for labor from a crewing service or manpower temp service.   Only leasing them would allow Honda to maintain control over the machines and produce a continuious revenue stream for the company as they work by the hour throughout the world.


The first ASIMO made its appearance in the U.S. on Feb. 14, 2002 when it rang the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange.

While much of the information published about the ASIMO robot appears to be spoken in the singular, ASIMO is actually represents a series of robots.  They are in limited production right now and are being placed, strategically, in a variety of work venues.  Last figures I have seen were that they lease (if you can qualify as a Beta tester) for US$165,000 per year.  There is one that greets you in the lobby at the Honda World Headquarters.  There are several that lead plant  tours at high tech elecronics companies in Japan.  One or two that lead tour groups at high tech museums, but Honda is not interested in saying much about any of this.  They would rather you stop by the ASIMO show in Disneyland if you want to see an ASIMO in action.



Photo: LSSU Robotics Center

In the middle of all this high technology it is easy to forget that people are what make it all happen. It is the nature of things that scientists, engineers and technicians have a limited working life span and the there is a constant need to be passing the knowledge on to the generations of humans that follow us.  New scientists, engineers and technicians need to be brought online to replace us who are aging out of the system, or as Shakesper said, making our various exits from the stage.  Training the next generation is actually a lot of fun.  For those of you have not yet started teaching or mentoring the next generation, I highly recommend it.  To see the wonder and surprise on a young persons face as they discover they have a talent for what you have made a life's work out of is great fun.  Try it, you will lke it.

GO ROBOTS !

Paul F. Grayson - Chief Engineer
AMERICAN INDUSTRIAL MAGIC, LLC
Racing to build technology that saves soldier's lives.
390 4-Mile Rd. S.
Traverse City, MI 49686-8411
(231) 946-0187, (231) 883-4463 Cell
pgrayson@aimagic.org
http://aimagic.org
http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/robotcluboftraversecitymi/
http://www.controleng.com/blog/1180000318.html

Posted by Paul Grayson on March 31, 2008 | Comments (0)