Honda today announced that it has ended the development of its humanoid robot, ASIMO. Honda will shift its focus to more practical robots such as models that help in nursing care. Honda unveiled its first two legged model of ASIMO in 2000 that could walk in straight line only. The robot took 5 to 20 seconds to complete each step forward.
Honda has already disbanded the team that worked for ASIMO. Since the first launch in 2000, Honda has developed 6 generations of the robot, with the latest coming in 2011. ASIMO will live on in other Honda products. Honda plans to use balancing and motion control tech developed for the robot in motorbikes and wearable robots for the elderly.
Competition in the humanoid robot field is intensifying. US robot maker Boston Dynamics, a subsidiary of Japan’s SoftBank Group, recently unveiled a highly advanced model.
