Japanese Humanoid Robot – Next Generation Blue Collar Worker
Japan unveiled the next-generation ideal blue collar worker — HRP-3 Promet Mk-II — capable of trekking through torrential rains, and walking on slippery surfaces on Thursday.
Kawada Industries’ HRP-3 Promet Mk-II robot — five feet, four inches tall (160 centimeters), weighing in at 149 pounds ( 68 kilos) — would also be capable of carrying out disaster relief operations and work in environments hazardous to humans.
The android dubbed ‘Ma-Kun’ — bearing a resemblance to “Star Wars” Imperial Stormtrooper — also demonstrated its electric screwdriver wielding talents by tightening up loose screws, balancing itself just as a human would, reports Yahoo News.
It can either work autonomously or be operated by humans using a wireless remote control system, depending upon how the android is programmed.
“We have made a leap towards creating a humanoid that works in a real environment.” the firm said in a joint statement with Kawasaki Heavy Industries and the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology.
“Our country is rapidly ageing and it is an urgent task to develop robots that can perform tasks only done by humans now.” the statement said.
“If a humanoid can substitute human functions, the entire social cost would be reduced.” it said.
Kawada Industries said the company hoped eventually to put the HRP-3 Promet Mk-II to commercial use.
Project manager Takakatsu Isozumi said the company wanted to target clients such as construction contractors by 2010, with each robot costing around $120,000 US. Cost to develop Ma-Kun was in the neighborhood of $3.3 billion US.
“We want to increase the actions that this robot can do at construction sites, such as driving construction vehicles.” he said.
Japan leads the world’s robotic industries in fields ranging from manufacturing to entertainment and security. Last week Mitsubishi Heavy Industries said it would start renting out humanoids to staff front desks at offices and hospitals.
HRP-3 Promet Mk-II
In this video, the robot shows off its skills at a June 21 press conference at Kawada Industries headquarters (Tochigi prefecture, Japan).
Japan’s HRP-2 Robot
Humanoid robot HRP-2 Promet developed by Kawada Industries and Tokyo University.
HRP-2 Humanoid Robot Dancing
The AIST HRP-2 Humanoid Robot project at Tsukuba, Japan. Video clip courtesy Y. Nakagawa with RT Corporation.
Robot Dance
Unrelated to KPR-3, these dancing robots demonstrate how robots are no longer restricted to angular movements.
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