Honda upgrades humanoid robot to SERVE BEER Honda's stair-climbing robot, Asimo, has resurfaced now that its developer has given the 'droid the ability to recognise faces and voices, and to pour drinks. So it can take orders, spot the regulars and serve beer. Just what's needed down my local. Honda said all this had come about because it had upgraded the intelligence …
...can he now go up and down stairs without falling over - as shown in that famous YouTube clip.
Seriously though, it's great that Honda persist with this in a time when most companies are paring stuff to the bone.
The speed upgrade is significant too - it may not seem like much but, as someone who spends too much time on a treadmill, I can verify that while 6km/h is a brisk walk, 9km/h is really a jog for most people. He only has little legs too!
Serving beer is not that difficult; there's a bar in Tokyo where there are is a Macaque monkey that can serve you. I also saw Asimo when I was there; the demo was very impressive, but do they still have to put those little marker dots down on the floor before-hand?
I've also seen a home-built beer serving "robot" although it was basically just a catapult built into a fridge; let your beer settle before opeing!
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