The P series is a series of prototype humanoid robots developed by Honda between 1993 and 2000. They were preceded by the Honda E series (whose development was not revealed to the public at the time) and followed by the ASIMO series, then the world's most advanced humanoid robots. Honda Motor's President and CEO Hiroyuki Yoshino, at the time, described Honda's humanoid robotics program as consistent with its direction to enhance human mobility.
Work to develop an advanced humanoid robot began in 1986, when Honda established a research center focused on fundamental technologies, including humanoid robotics.
Honda engineers had to research how humans walk, using the human skeleton for reference to create a replica and have it function like a human being. In 1986, the first two-legged robot was made to walk, used by Honda engineers to establish stable walking technology, including steps and sloped surfaces.
In 1993, Honda began developing "Prototype" models ("P" series), attaching the legs to a torso with arms that could perform basic tasks. P2, the second prototype model, debuted in December 1996, using wireless techniques making it the first self-regulating, two-legged walking robot. P2 weighed 463 pounds with a height of six feet tall. In September 1997, P3 was introduced as the first completely independent bi-pedal humanoid walking robot, standing five feet, four inches tall and weighing 287 pounds. [1]
Honda engineers determined a robot should be easy to operate and small in size, enabling it to help people—for instance, to look eye to eye with someone sitting in a chair.
ASIMO can be controlled by a portable controller whereas P3 was controlled from a workstation.
| P1 (1993) 1 | P2 (1996) | P3 (1997) | P4 (2000) 2 | -> | ASIMO (2000) | ASIMO (2005) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weight | 175 kg | 210 kg | 130 kg | 80 kg | 52 kg | 54 kg | |
| Height | 191.5 cm | 182.0 cm | 160.0 cm | 160.0 cm | 120.0 cm | 130.0 cm | |
| Width | 60.0 cm | 60.0 cm | 45.0 cm | 45.0 cm | |||
| Depth | 75.8 cm | 55.5 cm | 44.0 cm | 37.0 cm | |||
| Walking speed | 2 km/h | 2 km/h | 2 km/h | 1.6 km/h | 2.7 km/h (walking) 6 km/h (running) | ||
| Max working load | 5 kg/hand | 2 kg/hand | 1 kg (carrying) 10 kg (on cart) | ||||
| Battery | 135 V - 6 A·h - Ni-Zn | 38.4 V - NiMH | 51.8 V - Li-ion | ||||
| Continuous operating time | 15 minutes | 25 minutes | 30 minutes | 1 hour (walking) [3] | |||
| Degrees of freedom | 30 | 30 | 28 | 34 | 26 | 34 | |
| Image |  |  |  |  |  | ||
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An android is a humanoid robot or other artificial being often made from a flesh-like material. Historically, androids were completely within the domain of science fiction and frequently seen in film and television, but advances in robot technology now allow the design of functional and realistic humanoid robots.
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ASIMO 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 on 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. 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.
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The HRP-4C, nicknamed Miim, is a feminine-looking humanoid robot created by the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), a Japanese research facility.
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The Honda U3-X is an experimental self-balancing one-wheeled personal transporter shown in 2009.
Surena is a series of Iranian humanoid robots, named after the Parthian General Surena. The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) has placed the Surena among the prominent robots in the world after analyzing its performance.
Atlas is a bipedal humanoid robot primarily developed by the American robotics company Boston Dynamics with funding and oversight from the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). The robot was initially designed for a variety of search and rescue tasks, and was unveiled to the public on July 11, 2013.
A walking vehicle is a vehicle that moves on legs rather than wheels or tracks. Walking vehicles have been constructed with anywhere from one to more than eight legs. There are many designs for the leg mechanisms of walking machines that provide foot trajectories with different properties.
