- Title: JAPAN: Japanese automaker Toyota looks to launch practical robots by 2010
- Date: 10th December 2007
- Summary: (*** FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY ***) VARIOUS OF WATANABE POSING WITH 'GUIDE ROBOT' FOR JOURNALISTS
- Embargoed: 25th December 2007 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Japan
- Country: Japan
- Topics: Science / Technology,Light / Amusing / Unusual / Quirky
- Reuters ID: LVA2CWYC201R77XF3MTP06ETN7D8
- Story Text: Truly practical humanoid and other advanced personal consumer robots are just around the corner, Japanese automaker Toyota Motor Corp said on Thursday (December 6).
Toyota announced it was aiming to put its humanoid and other consumer robots to practical use soon after 2010 in factories, hospitals, around town and in homes.
"We are planning to further revolutionise all the robot technology we have already developed on our production floors in order to build 'Partner Robots' that will support all sorts of human activity," Toyota President Katsuaki Watanabe told a news conference.
Unveiling two new robots called the "mobility robot" and the "violin-playing robot", Japan's top automaker said it would step up its research and development efforts in the field, including by doubling the number of engineers to about 200 in around three years.
Under its recently crafted long-term plan dubbed "Global Vision 2020", Toyota aims to make the robotics field one of its core businesses by 2020.
In a demonstration of the new robots' achievements, Toyota brought out a 152 cm (5 ft), two-legged robot dextrous enough to play a few stanzas -- complete with vibrato sound -- from Edward Elgar's "Pomp and Circumstance", a popular tune at graduation ceremonies.
Toyota said it planned to further advance the robot's dexterity to enable it to use tools and assist with domestic duties and nursing and medical care. The robot now has 17 joints in both of its hands and arms.
Toyota also unveiled a new "mobility robot", which looks like a bulky high-chair on wheels and is aimed at helping people with short-distance transport.
The robot, which looks like a bulky high-chair on wheels, can also follow a person at a measured pace, functioning as a porter, and has wheels that swivel at an angle to keep the seat level when going over bumps or up a hill.
Researchers in Japan, including from academia and companies like Toyota rival Honda Motor Co are racing to build robots smart enough to serve the needs of the elderly in a country where 40 percent of the population is expected to be over 65 by 2055.
Toyota said it will build a research facility dedicated to robot technology on the site of one of its domestic factories next year.
Watanabe said Toyota hoped to boost collaboration with academia and the government to achieve the robots' practical application, while remaining open to cooperation with other companies involved in the field. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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