Concept
ASIMO (Advanced Step in Innovative Mobility) is a humanoid robot created by Honda in 2000. It is displayed in the Miraikan museum in Tokyo, Japan. On 8 July 2018, Honda posted the last update of Asimo through their official page stating that it would be ceasing all development and production of Asimo robots in order to focus on more practical applications using the technology developed through Asimo's lifespan. The name was chosen in honor of Isaac Asimov. It made its last active appearance in March 2022, over 20 years after its first, as Honda announced that they are retiring the robot to concentrate on remote-controlled, avatar-style, robotic technology. There are four published models of the Asimo. A few years after the release in 2002 there were 20 units of the first Asimo model produced. As of February 2009, there were over 100 ASIMO units in existence. Honda began developing humanoid robots in the 1980s, including several prototypes that preceded ASIMO. It was the company's goal to create a walking robot. E0 was the first bipedal (two-legged) model produced as part of the Honda E series, which was an early experimental line of self-regulating, humanoid walking robot with wireless movements created between 1986 and 1993. This was followed by the Honda P series of robots produced from 1993 through 1997. The research made on the E- and P-series led to the creation of ASIMO. Development began at Honda's Wako Fundamental Technical Research Center in Japan in 1999 and ASIMO was unveiled in October 2000. ASIMO is an acronym which stands for Advanced Step in Innovative Mobility. The Japanese word Asi also stands for 'leg' and Mo for 'mobility'. ASIMO is pronounced as '' and means 'also legs'. In 2018, Honda ceased the commercial development of ASIMO, although it will continue to be developed as a research platform and make public appearances. ASIMO stands tall and weighs . Research conducted by Honda found that the ideal height for a mobility assistant robot was between 120 cm and the height of an average adult, which is conducive to operating door knobs and light switches.
