Kawada Industries and Japan's National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) have updated their 10-year-old line of HRP humanoid robots with an athletic machine they hope to develop into a menial worker.
HRP-4: Menial worker of the future?
The blue and white humanoid -- named HRP-4 -- stands 1.51 meters (5 ft) tall and boasts the body of a track-and-field athlete. The robot's 34 joints are more flexible than those of previous models, and at 39 kilograms (86 lbs), it weighs 4 kilograms (8.8 lbs) less than last year's entertainment-oriented HRP-4C fembot.
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At the unveiling on Wednesday, the agile robot demonstrated a range of skills that may come in handy in the workplace, such as the ability to stand on one foot, twist its waist, strike poses, follow spoken commands, recognize faces, and track objects by moving its head. Its five-fingered hands are also more dexterous than those of its predecessors.
Kawada and AIST plan to begin selling the robots to universities and research institutions in January 2011 at a starting price of 26 million yen ($305,000) each.
Kevin Bjorke
I was really hoping that the robot would show some athleticism when the human walked onto the stage. Anticipated the robot would kick his ass.
Oh well, maybe next revision.
[]Jappleng
Same, but it was exciting to see the improvements from the HRP-3. $305k is pretty cheap compared to ASIMO which is much smaller and travels slower for over a million each. Technology doubles every 13-months now so I cannot wait to see how robots are going to be like in 13-months from now :D
[]Ty
Lol @ Optimus Prime and Megatron in the background.
[]Murakami 0032
Good! but i'm still fan of ASIMO, ASIMO kicks ass!
[]vivzizi
People just aren't getting it.
This development is HUGE and without political changes not good.
At $305,000 this worker costs far less over a lifetime than the cheapest worker in the world when including training, food, wages and health care.
The introduction of robots like this (and there will be more at much cheaper prices) will simply turn all of economic and politics on its head unless nations start changing constitutions to grant rights to life and food and shelter to people based not on the work they do but based on guaranteed rights as people in society.
Every political and economic system in the world indirectly or directly bases the major rights such as the right to food and shelter of an individual on his value as a worker. Robotics are simply going to eliminate that worth and if people don't wake up and start changing constitutions huge swaths of people will starve.
Robotics and automation will only be a wonderful advancement if laws are changed to guarantee robotics reduce the need for people to work to survive. If instead the same systems are kept the owners of machinery and raw materials will simply displace millions of people who will have no right to food and no way to make a living.
And yes already whole factories exist of robots making robots with no human intervention so humans aren't needed for the robots either.
You better start calling for constitutional rights to food and shelter in all constitutions before those who own the machinery of industry have so much economic leverage they can prevent it from happening.
You have less than a few years before that political and economic reality happens in the most westernized of nations.
vivzizi
[]ZEEMADMAN
This Robot is only 5' Tall and 85 Pounds. But there's No Reason to think it cannot be easily Scaled Up. As Big and Heavy as You'd Need or Want. I Can't wait for the Security and Military Robots. Armed with any Weapons Systems You want built into them. And No Longer Slow but Speeded Up past the ability of Humans! There's No Real Barrier to that! A Robot that is Literally the Terminator. Then We'll have to decide if it's Legal or Moral to send One or One Thousand out against Humans! I say it is! I'd love to see One or More of these on Every Block Standing Vigil in a Booth as a Police Force. As to how Most People will see this remains to be seen. It depends on whose on the other end of the Camera and Controls! Less Crime will be the result. Destroy One and a Dozen more would be Summoned to Assist! Brave New World. Invade a Country and leave a few on each Block to Maintain Good Order! Please put out the Cigarette! Or? Or Else! Weapons Armed! PLEASE!
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