Robodex 2002: Humanoid bots strut their stuff

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Sony's "SDR-4X" dances onstage during a demo last week.

By Kuriko Miyake

(IDG) -- Japan, where a robot earns a salary higher than many workers and where more and more people are keeping robots as pets, is playing host for the second time to the world's only exhibition devoted to entertainment robots. Robodex 2002 begins Thursday in the port city of Yokohama, near Tokyo, and some of the latest advances in robot technology were on display Wednesday evening at a preview event.

This year's Robodex not only focuses on robots for entertainment, the main topic of the last Robodex in late 2000, but robots that can coexist and work in a human society. These include robots that educate kids, assist people who need medical support, and can stand watch and guard the inside of a building at night.

One robot, Honda Motor's "Asimo," is already working alongside people. It landed a job at Japan's National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation, works as a guide at IBM Japan's building, rang the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange on Valentine's Day, and also stars in a series of Honda TV commercials.

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In motion

Asimo is one of the two hottest robots at Robodex 2002. The other is Sony's "SDR-4X." Like Asimo, the SDR-4X is a humanoid robot that can walk, move, and even dance.

Sony unveiled a prototype of the 58-centimeter-tall robot a week ago. Equipped with an advanced motion-control system, the robot can balance on a moving platform and walk on carpet or Japanese tatami mat floors -- something that sounds simple but is very difficult for a robot.

At preview demonstrations on Wednesday evening the robots did their best to impress visitors. Four SDR-4X robots sang and danced on a Sony stage along with the company's "Aibo" entertainment robots, while Honda's Asimo walked around the hall, waved at visitors, and climbed up and down stairs.

A total of 27 domestic participants -- 13 corporations, 10 universities, 3 governmental agencies, and 1 individual -- and a single foreign country, the UK, represented by Shadow Robot, will exhibit their robots at the exhibition, which runs until Sunday at the Pacifico Yokohama exhibition center. Organizers are expecting 65,000 visitors, they said.