Honda caused quite a splash a while back with the introduction of the U3-X, a personal mobility robot that’s basically a motorized unicycle (and that our own John Biggs was “impressed” with after taking it for a test drive last year). And now, at the Tokyo Motor Show 2011, Honda took the wraps of a pretty similar robot, the so-called Uni-Cub.
In fact, Honda says it has been working on mobility solutions for single drivers since 1980. Just like with the U3-X, this new model makes it possible for drivers to ride in the direction they want to go by just moving the upper body or operating a joystick (the robot can also handle lateral movements). → Read More
Honda has been very silent about Asimo, its super-advanced humanoid robot, in recent years. After introducing the first version in 2000, Honda showed several versions through 2005, until the company finally took the wraps off a new version earlier today in Tokyo. This model is the thinnest, fastest, and most “intelligent” Asimo yet.
At 48kg, the Asimo that was shown today is 6kg lighter than the previous model. He now has 57 joints in his body (23 more) and walks at 9km/h (instead of 6km/h). → Read More
America’s first pipeline-fed, retail hydrogen fueling station opened in Torrance, California, within Los Angeles county on Tuesday. The station will provide hydrogen for fuel cell and hybrid vehicles in the area. It was built through a joint effort by Toyota, Air Products and Shell alternative energies, with funding from the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). The station’s first customer was the owner of a Honda FCX Clarity.
A handful of hydrogen fuel cell black cabs have already hit the streets in London. Hydrogen fuel cell forklifts are already widely available, and used in warehouse fleets from Wal-Mart to Whole Foods. Fuel cell cars — promised by manufacturers including Toyota, Daimler, GM, Honda, and Hyundai — are not slated for mass market availability until 2015, though. The dominant clean vehicle technology available in the U.S. remains the battery electric vehicle… → Read More
Honda Japan today said [press release in English] that it will start lease sales of its new electric motorcycle, the so-called EV-neo on December 24. The 50cc scooters are primarily aimed at delivery services or individual businesses, 100 of which will have the chance to test the vehicle until March 2011. General sales will then start in April next year. → Read More
We heard a little while back that Honda was beginning to go public with its new hybrid and EV line for 2012, and sure enough, today at the LA Auto Show they unveiled the concept electric Fit. It doesn’t sound particularly original, and the Leaf and Volt will be beating it to market by a year, but hey, the more the merrier.
Here are some basic stats and facts. → Read More
Honda isn’t exactly the first Japanese car company that comes to mind when thinking about hybrids. Toyota, thanks to its Prius and hybrid Lexus line-up, won the general populus a few years back, but Honda is set to make another run with the third generation of Honda Civic Hybrids along with a new line of electric vehicles.
These new lines should start hitting streets in both Japan and the US sometime next year for the 2012 model year. This comes on top of the current plans to introduce a hybrid version of the B-segment Honda Fit later this year. Details about the up-coming electric car wasn’t announced, but a few tantalizing specs concerning the next-gen Honda Civic Hybrid leaked a few weeks back and seem to confirm today’s report. Can we say Prius-killer? Yup. → Read More
Mind-reading devices are nothing really new, but Japan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC) apparently sees a huge potential for that market in the near future. The MIC will join forces with selected private tech companies to develop and commercialize robots and consumer electronics that can be controlled through thought. The project kicks off this fiscal year and is supposed to end by 2020. → Read More
Remember Tsutenkaku, “the world’s biggest” robot? Tsutenkaku, basically a 170cm tall robot that looks like a city tower, recently made the journey from Osaka (where he was made and is supposed to attract tourists) from Tokyo. Needless to say, he first went to Akihabara, Tokyo’s robot geek paradise, and while he was there, Tsutenkaku met Honda’s famous humanoid Asimo, too.
Tsutenkaku looks weird on pictures, but he’s actually much, much weirder on video. → Read More
While we mostly cover electric bicycles and the occasional electric car, there are surely some people waiting for a decent electric motorbike, too. Honda has now announced an e-scooter, and it looks their model, the EV-neo, is quite decent. → Read More
Remember the U3-X Mobility Robot from Honda we blogged about last year? Well, the auto-unicycle is still a prototype, but Honda has just released a new (and pretty interesting) promo video on its official YouTube channel. The company says the U3-X can run continuously for one hour on a single (lithium-ion) battery charge and can be recharged via a conventional 120-volt power outlet. → Read More
Honda’s Asimo is probably the world’s most famous humanoid robot. The company today leaked the first technical details and pictures of the fourth version of Asimo, the P4. And the new and improved Asimo, which took 13 years for Honda to develop (P3 was unveiled in 1997), looks much more elegant and human astronaut-like than the previous models. → Read More
Couple of things to talk about, Honda just announced that they are going to show off an electric concept vehicle, and a Hungarian company is making a concept car that’s capable of splitting in to two separate vehicles. → Read More
Bicycle safety wasn’t an issue for me growing up. I lived in a quiet suburban subdivision on a cul-de-sac. Plus, my mom is an insurance agent and so she made sure that I always had the latest safety equipment. (E.g. shin pads, wrist pads, elbow pads, helmet, gloves, and a cup) It’s a damn good thing that Honda didn’t make this bicycle simulator back in the Eighties. She would have shipped the thing in from Japan, and I would have never been able to leave the house. → Read More
If the pictures of Honda’s little peanut-shaped mobility device weren’t enough for you, well, now you can see it in motion. This demonstration at the Tokyo Motor Show has a rather smug-looking presenter zipping it all over the stage, and not falling down once. I have to say, he looks a little unsure as to what to do with your hands. I’d like to think that if I were in his position, I wouldn’t naturally assume a “WHAT WHAT” stance. → Read More
This, according to Honda, is the future of personal mobility. (In the future, walking will be seen as passe and uncool.) It’s called the U3-X, and it just debuted in Tokyo. It’s sorta like a Segway, but a little less cumbersome (but just as unusual looking to the layman). → Read More
As I mentioned earlier, Honda is in town to demo their two walking assist devices for the first time in the US. I was given the opportunity to test both models out in midtown Manhattan this afternoon. The applications for both models are pretty obvious and Honda has been testing the Bodyweight Support Assist at their Saitama factory since November of last year.
Update: The entire presentation including the Q&A is now available to watch after the jump. → Read More
We’ve covered Honda’s walking assist devices pretty extensively in the past, but we’ve never had the opportunity to see them in person until now. Hopefully we get that chance next week when Honda demos two prototype devices in Detroit at the 2009 Society of Automtoive Engineers World Congress. Actually, we’re trying out the W.A.D. right now and we’ll have video later today!
With over 130 patents, Honda hopes to help the geriatric and those with impaired leg muscles walk again. → Read More
Honda today announced a “brain machine interface” (press release in English), which makes it possible for human beings to control robots by thought and does away with all the button pressing and joystick holding that usually gets on our nerves when we control our robots. The technology was developed jointly with Japanese tech company Shimadzu and Tokyo-based research institute ATR. → Read More
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