Japanese make human-sized robot breakthrough

THE JAPANESE National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology said it has created a humanoid like robot that can carry 6KG and can get up and lie down.

The robot, called the HRP-2, is 154 centimeters tall and weighs 58 kilograms.

The boffins say that the robot was developed in collaboration with Kawada Industries, and has two hip joints with 30 degrees of freedom. It claims this is the first human sized robot that can get to its own two feet, and can walk without falling over, unlike certain humans we know.

But if it does fall over, it can get up again. The motion control software is being made freely available to encourage research into robotics.

There's slightly more information about the breakthrough robot here. The robot is expected to go into production within the next five years, and includes electronic "eyes". µ

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