Honda's Asimo Robots Learn To Interact

Tokyo (Japan) - Honda has upgraded its "humanoid" robot to allow Asimo to interact with other robots and humans.

Visitors to Honda's t Aoyama headquarters can see a new version of Asimo in action, where the robots are guiding visitors and serving refreshments. The company says it has added "an intelligence technology that enhances smooth movement", which now enables Asimo predict the movement of oncoming people and either yield the right-of-way of humans or other Asimos - or even take a step back.

The new functions also include features that allow multiple Asimo to work together. Information about the current status of each robot is shared with other networked units and in this way enables the robots to complete tasks more efficiently. Honda said that the distance between the current position of each Asimo and the site where a task needs to be performed is calculated and combined with the status of battery levels. A task is then assigned to the robot which can cover a certain task in the "the most time efficient way."

When the remaining battery level of a robot falls below a certain level, an Asimo can detect and walk to the closest available battery charging station and re-charge while standing.

The first Asimo robot was introduced in 2005. A version of the robot is on display at Disneyland.