Scientists knew this time would soon come, and here it is. We can now buy humanoid robots, for some majestic prices at the moment. The technology behind these contraptions has evolved, we could say, at the speed of light. They can now autonomously mimic the behavior of animals and even humans.
It’s time the HUBO II, the improved version of the HUBO, hit the markets – a 40-DOF full-size walking humanoid robot. It was developed and built by the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST).
In a more technical approach, the robot features extremely mobile limbs that can even allow it to do push-ups. It weighs around 45 kg and measures 1.3 meters in height. These numbers definitely place it away from the world of toys and closer to human lookalikes.
It’s quite surprising how many actions can this artificial humanoid do. It can be asked to open a car’s doors, operate the gear lever and can hold a weight of 7 kg. The scientists behind KAIST have equipped it with “individually actuated fingers” that can work together and adapt to the shapes the robot touches, thus being able to hold, manipulate or even lift them.
An interesting feature of the contraption is that it can uninterruptedly walk for 2 straight kilometers on a single charge and can now run at speeds of up to 4 km/h.
Currently, the HUBO II is available for purchase at a worldwide level, for $400,000 per unit, under license by KAIST. The construction challenge will be assumed by Rainbow Co. Nine units have already been delivered to research institutes and universities in Singapore and the United States, but the list will probably get longer soon as the public has barely got to be able to purchase it.
[enGadget]
