Starting with the robot that many are likely to have seen before now, this build by Honda has been four decades in the making. Design began in the 1980's with the Honda E-Series and then the Honda P-Series through the 90's, admittedly with a less slick design than above. The P-Series was the first humanoid robot to walk wirelessly and self-regulated. These projects were an integral part of Honda's evolution, leading up to Asimo being unveiled in 2000. With a number of updates since, the current 2014 model stands at 4ft 3in and weighs a relatively light 50kgs. It's fully capable of self-controlled manoeuvrability, will avoid obstacles and even bring you a coffee at your request thanks to a built in camera that can also recognise human faces and greet them accordingly. The goal here is to have Asimo integrated with humans as an assistance tool. With it's artificial intelligence, it's able to assess a request made by a human and act appropriately on that request. The sensors in it's fingertips also let it judge the amount of force required to hold an object; for example Asimo can unscrew a tightly fitted lid from a coffee jar and in the next moment lift a paper cup without breaking it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JlRPICfnmhw
KJ Lewis is 35 years old, was able to rear three small children into three slightly bigger children and has a relatively untested and unfounded passion for writing.
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