# Rise of the Machines: Coffee, Tea, or Asimo? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 13, 2005, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rise-of-the-machines-coffee-tea-or-asimo/335495 "2005-12-13T22:14:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2005, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rise-of-the-machines-coffee-tea-or-asimo/335495/1 "2005-12-13T22:14:54Z")
[How do you say, “Dey durk our dobs!” in Japanese?](http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn8456&feedId=mech-tech_rss20) > [@](#): > > The world’s first walking humanoid robot is set to make its office debut in 2006 as a receptionist, Honda announced on Tuesday. The latest version of Honda’s Asimo robot will be starting its new job in April at a Honda office in Wako in Saitama prefecture north of Tokyo. > > The prototype, unveiled in Tokyo, can guide guests to a meeting room, serve coffee on a tray and push a cart with a load of up to 10 kilograms, says Honda. > > Compared with its predecessor, the new model has doubled its running speed to six kilometres (3.7 miles) per hour and can now run in a circle and zigzag. > > “The level of Asimo’s capability was just good enough to entertain people on the stage in the past, but the new Asimo can work at places closer to us,” says Satoshi Shigemi, the Honda official in charge of the robot’s development. > > “The new Asimo can perform the task of a receptionist or information guide automatically,” Shigemi told a news conference. “Honda is aiming to create a humanoid robot that can help people and live together with people.” For those of you easily creeped out by such things, you can see video of Asimo handling a tray [here.](http://world.honda.com/ASIMO/) ---
**Author:** ![Sublight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Sublight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sublight)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2005, 6:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rise-of-the-machines-coffee-tea-or-asimo/335495/2 "2005-12-14T06:56:48Z")
Yep, saw that on the news here this morning. Pretty neat. They included some close-up photos to prove he was actually running (i.e. both feet were off the ground in mid-stride). They also showed a demonstration of Asimo (who I will refer to here as a ‘he’) showing off his new sensors while guiding a guest to a meeting room: The guest shows up at the reception desk and tells Asimo who she has an appointment with. Asimo replies “Ms. Sato, please follow me.” and begins walking down the hall. Ms Sato, however, stays where she is. After walking about ten paces, Asimo detects that Ms. Sato isn’t following. He stops, turns his head back a little bit and repeats, “Ms. Sato. Please follow me.” This time she starts moving. Once Asimo detects that she’s behind him (or someone is, anyway. I have no idea if this system would work at all if there were anyone else in the room), he starts walking again. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2005, 7:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rise-of-the-machines-coffee-tea-or-asimo/335495/3 "2005-12-14T07:06:25Z")
Who’s the company that’s got the samurai robot (complete with armor)? I saw clips of it on a news show tonight, but they didn’t name the company and my google fu isn’t up to the task of finding it. (Nor have they posted anything about it on the news shows website yet.) ---
**Author:** ![Sublight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Sublight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sublight)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2005, 8:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rise-of-the-machines-coffee-tea-or-asimo/335495/4 "2005-12-14T08:53:27Z")
Hmm… don’t know that one. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2005, 10:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rise-of-the-machines-coffee-tea-or-asimo/335495/5 "2005-12-14T10:11:30Z")
[Run! Run for your lives!](http://world.honda.com/ThePowerofDreams/img/topics/02.jpg) (or am I the only one that thinks they should have designed that banner a little more thoughtfully?) ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Rieux](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@Dr.Rieux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Rieux)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2005, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rise-of-the-machines-coffee-tea-or-asimo/335495/6 "2005-12-14T13:38:57Z")
Today, Asimo–tomorrow, Gigantor! ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2005, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rise-of-the-machines-coffee-tea-or-asimo/335495/7 "2005-12-14T19:02:49Z")
> [@Sublight](#): > > Hmm… don’t know that one. Bummer. The company made a big to do about the whole thing, unvieling it at a temple, and having lots of folks dressed in matching samurai armor around it. ---
**Author:** ![Sublight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Sublight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sublight)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2005, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rise-of-the-machines-coffee-tea-or-asimo/335495/8 "2005-12-15T01:54:46Z")
Found it. Doesn’t seem to have made much of a stir here, even with the company that built the thing. Here’s an article about it in Dutch: [http://www.telegraaf.nl/i-mail/30200331/Samurai\_robot.html](http://www.telegraaf.nl/i-mail/30200331/Samurai_robot.html) And a brief mention over at [fuckedgaijin.com](http://fuckedgaijin.com): [http://www.fuckedgaijin.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=14095&highlight=tmsuk](http://www.fuckedgaijin.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=14095&highlight=tmsuk) And the website of the Tmsuk ( 😕 the Japanese version is written as Temuzak): [http://www.tmsuk.co.jp/english/robots.html](http://www.tmsuk.co.jp/english/robots.html) They don’t mention anything about the Samurai robot, so it’s probably one of their other models just dressed up for a particular occasion. Although I didn’t realize until just now that this event happened just this past Monday, so they may not have added it to their website. ---
**Author:** ![Sublight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Sublight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sublight)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2005, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rise-of-the-machines-coffee-tea-or-asimo/335495/9 "2005-12-15T02:00:09Z")
Just as I posted, they updated their news page. There’s going to be a segment about their “two-legged walking Kiyomori robot” at a shrine in Kyushu on the NHK network tonight. ---
**Author:** ![Tenar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@Tenar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tenar)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2005, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rise-of-the-machines-coffee-tea-or-asimo/335495/10 "2005-12-15T02:06:45Z")
Am I the only one having trouble here? I dutifully installed Flashplayer8, but all I’m getting is a black screen with sound. No exciting video of Asimo for me. ---
**Author:** ![panamajack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/47e85d/32.png) [@panamajack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panamajack)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2005, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rise-of-the-machines-coffee-tea-or-asimo/335495/11 "2005-12-15T06:33:02Z")
I didn’t even bother installing the new Flash player, but I did like the picture that shows up if you don’t have it (cartoony guy in a Honda helmet in a sort of apologetic pose - head bowed, hands down).