HRP-4: Meet Japan's New And Awesome Humanoid Robot (Video)

Serkan Toto

Dr. Serkan Toto is an independent consultant and advisor focusing on Japan’s web, mobile and social gaming industries. Based in Tokyo, he works together with financial institutions and startups worldwide. Serkan has been the Japan contributor for TechCrunch.com since 2008. He is sept-lingual, holds an MBA and is a PhD in economics. → Learn More

Thursday, September 16th, 2010

Japan’s National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) has done it again. After having developed one of the most advanced cybernetic human robots out there (namely the HRP-4C we covered previously), it is now time for the next humanoid. Meet the HRP-4 [JP].

The HRP-4 is primarily designed for use at R&D facilities at universities and companies. It stands 151cm tall, weighs 39kg, and boasts a total of 34 degrees of freedom. Buyers can mount a laptop on its bag to add further functionality.

The robot can strike poses in response to voice commands, and it can also detect and track human faces and certain objects.

AIST and co-developer Kawada Industries plan to start selling the HRP-4 in January next year. The robot itself plus the software necessary to control it will cost $325,000.

Here’s a quite impressive demo video:

blog comments powered by Disqus