JAPAN: World's robots gather in Tokyo for the International Robot Exhibition.

Record ID: 401646

  • Title: JAPAN: World's robots gather in Tokyo for the International Robot Exhibition.
  • Date: 27th November 2009
  • Summary: TOKYO, JAPAN (NOVEMBER 25, 2009) (REUTERS) INTERNATIONAL ROBOT EXPO 2009 SIGN THAT READS "INTERNATIONAL ROBOT EXHIBITION 2009" OMNI ZERO 1000, TRANSFORMER ROBOT, TURNING LAYING DOWN TO TURN INTO CAR OMNI ZERO'S HEAD SECTION ROTATING UP AND THEN DRIVING FORWARD OMNI STANDING UP AGAIN OMNI ZERO RAISING HANDS OMNI ZERO WALKING WITH ONLOOKERS TAKING PICTURES OMNI ZERO
  • Embargoed: 12th December 2009 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Japan
  • Country: Japan
  • Topics: Science / Technology,Light / Amusing / Unusual / Quirky
  • Reuters ID: LVADKQUIX0W0IG8CO3F21A4ADUBE
  • Story Text: From transformer robots to mechanical arms, cyborgs are the buzz at the latest International Robot Exhibition in Tokyo.
    Robots of all shapes and sizes were on display at the International Robot Exhibition 2009 in Tokyo on Wednesday (November 25).
    While the main focus of the exhibition was industrial robots, they were also joined by transformer robots.
    Reminiscent of a Transformer, the Omni Zero 1000 can walk and turn itself into a car and roll along the floor.
    Originally made for Robot One, a robot competition held twice a year, the robot can also transform itself into various shapes.
    When in walking mode, the robot can open its head section to reveal a seat and carry a human occupant or more often its creator Takeshi Maeda.
    "It has wheels on its shoulders, and it can turn into a car shape and move that way. Also, a human, in this case me, can sit on this section and it can walk. Those are the two main traits," Maeda explained to Reuters after riding on the Omni Zero.
    Another mechanism getting media's attention is a robotic arm by Toyota Industries, which can be controlled by a flick of the wrist.
    Using a combination of sensor and high-framerate cameras, the system determines the exact location of a user's hand and what the user's hand is doing by referencing hand shapes from a stored database.
    Though the current system is still limited to grabbing a ball, the developers have high hopes that the system could be used in places where a computer mouse and keyboard can't.
    "The biggest merit of this is being able to control objects without having to hold anything. When in the field or when working where your hands have to be high up, you can't use a mouse, and so we hope to use it in those sort of contexts," Kazuo Seiki of Toyota Industries Robotic Office told Reuters at the exhibition.
    Many industrial robots not only showed how they could improve industrial productivity, but also special skills such as dancing in coordination with green lightsaber-like tubes that would make George Lucas proud.
    The annual exhibition has been held in Japan since 1973 with nearly 200 companies from around the world participating at this year's exhibition.
    Japan expects its future robotics market to expand to $10 billion U.S. dollars within the next decade.
    ENDS.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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