Smallest humanoid a chip off the old block

I-Sobot, a new toy from Takara Tomy, has been launched as the world's smallest humanoid robot in production, certified by Guinness World Records. It's a 165 mm (6.5"), remote-controlled droid that walks, punches, kicks, does gymnastics and plays music. Its interesting features include 17 servo units, a gyro sensor for balance and the ability to recognize 10 voice commands. Not bad for $350.

I-Sobot also has a spoken repertoire of over 200 sound effects, words and cute asides like "I could go for an ice-cold can of STP." Funny, but its ancestor Omnibot from the mid-1980s (i-Sobot's name is actually "Omnibot 17μ i-Sobot") seemed to have more style, at least in the TV ads. He even makes a pass at a vacuum cleaner.

Rocket punch!

More on the ongoing Great Robot Exhibition in Tokyo: it has lots of cool exhibits like anime super robot Mazinger Z, above. Check out my Wired News photo gallery - I also have an article in the Japan Times about it and the related show Asimo show.

Humanoid learns to point, bow

A full-size humanoid robot that can communicate with natural human gestures and demonstrate some AI chops has been developed by Japan's National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT).

Researchers at the institute's Spoken Language Communication Group say it is the first robot in the world with nonverbal communication skills and multipurpose, high-level functions. The bipedal machine, which stands 155 cm (5 feet) tall, uses its artificial vision system to recognize objects in 3D and learn human gestures such as pointing and bowing, as well as their meaning when performed by others.

The scientists compare this to the way a child learns to communicate. No word yet on what the tin man calls itself.

NICT says it hopes the bot, which looks like an early Asimo prototype, will be used as an everyday caregiver for elderly people in the future as well as a helper robot in natural disasters.

Via Nikkei Net, NICT

Major robot show opens in Tokyo

Japan's National Museum of Nature and Science has just opened a big show entitled "The Great Robot Exhibition: Karakuri, Anime and the Latest Robots," running through Jan. 27 in Ueno Park, Tokyo.

I attended the press preview and was impressed. The organizers have gathered many of the best Japanese robots out there today, and have extensive displays on the background of robot development such as karakuri clockwork dolls and anime icons like Astro Boy.

If you're in town, "Dai Robotto Haku" is worth catching. It's a great retrospective on Japanese robot culture. Highlights include a wall of one hundred "Master Grade" Gundam plastic models, an original 19th-century karakuri archer doll by Tanaka Hisashige and a new stage show by Honda's Asimo, the premier humanoid robot.

If you can't make the exhibition, you might want to buy Loving the Machine instead!

Back-seat driver now front-seat robot

One of the wildest concept cars being shown off at the 40th Tokyo Motor Show starting Oct. 26th is the Nissan Pivo 2 electric car, and it has a few twists. For starters, its wheels can rotate 90 degrees, allowing the battery-powered vehicle to be driven sideways. The cabin can also rotate a full 360 degrees. Those functions obviate parallel parking and the need for a reverse gear. But the Pivo's best trick? It has a robot navigator that speaks English and Japanese.

Nestled in the dashboard, the Pivo bot is none other than NEC's cute PaPeRo, minus its body. PaPeRo was originally conceived as a childcare robot adept at entertaining tots with songs and games, but it has since diversified into wine tasting, and now a Japanese version of KITT. I shudder to think what's next.

This "Robotic Agent" can sense the driver's mental state by analyzing voice and face image data, according to the automaker. Its voice-activated navigation and information system is also designed to soothe stressed drivers through small talk. But for those who like to pound the dashboard in moments of road rage, this "starry-eyed robot-monkey head," as Motortrend described it, might make a convenient punching bag. Fortunately PaPeRo is made of tough plastic!

Gundam-mad bureaucrat busted

A Japanese civil servant in the agriculture ministry was recently reprimanded for ignoring his duties and making 260 edits to the Japanese-language Wikipedia entry on Mobile Suit Gundam, the super-popular animated robot sci-fi series.

"The agriculture ministry is not in charge of Gundam," ministry official Tsutomu Shimomura was quoted by AP as saying. He added that other bureaucrats had also modified the Gundam page, and that access to Wikipedia has been blocked from the ministry.

Gundam is a sprawling saga about space colonists who do battle in giant robots. It's also a merchandising phenomenon in Japan. Bandai, the country's largest toymaker, owes most of its revenue to the brand, especially the robot model kits that have sold over 360 million units since 1980.