One of our colleague taped a Asimo live demonstration in Disney World Florida. We are very impressed with what Honda achieved. You can just wonder on how soon it could be possible to have a Asimo in every home. Imaging what it could do for the elderly and disabled people!
Asimo is short for Advanced Step in Innovative Mobility.
Although it is possibly also a reference to the famous science fiction author Isaac Asimov who is the father of the Three Laws of Robotics:
1: A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
2: A robot must obey any orders given to it by human beings, except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
3: A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.
This robot stands about 1 
meter tall, it looks humanoid, and is capped by a spaceman helmet with a black visor. Most remarkable about the Asimo is not its appearance, but the way it moves. It lifts off with one foot, sways its hip to maintain its center of gravity, and through a controlled fall, arrested by its lifted foot, it advances towards a goal. In short, it walks like a human. When one imagines a robot moving, stiff movements are the result. One leg lifts, extends, lowers, pauses, followed by the other. Asimo has sensors to calculate its center of balance and velocity, and knows how to move just like humans do, with a casual stride. This is remarkable to see in action like when he climes the stair or runs like a human. Our colleague not just watched the robot but also the people watching the show and wasn’t surprised that some of the them showed misty eyes from emotion.
Wow, it’s like the Grand Canyon, nothing can prepare you for the actuel real thing!
Thank you Honda and please, please, please show us more!
