Humanoid robots are the main research theme of the French National Centre for Scientific Research and the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology. For more than 20 years, the lab has been developing the Humanoid Robotics Platform series of humanoid robots. Start with Robot “OS development” The National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, or AIST, is one of the largest public research institutes in Japan and employs roughly 10,000 specialists. Their wide range of research covers topics like next-generation automobiles, renewable energy, biomedical science, geology, and nanomaterials. They also have a state-of-the-art humanoid robotics lab in conjunction with the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), […]

The concept of humanoid robots living alongside humans has become a popular one in the world of animation, movies and novels, which has led many people to imagine it becoming a reality. Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd. (KHI) is taking on the challenge of building humanoid robots for the real world. KHI has a history of more than half a century in the field of industrial robots, so why did they decide to start building humanoid robots? I asked two key players at KHI to find out the reason. Adding a Humanoid Robot to the List “Kawasaki Heavy Industries has the technology to make humanoid robots,” says Hidehiko Shimamura, Precision Machinery […]

About 70 years have passed since the birth of Astro Boy, the son of science. People have long dreamed of a future in which humanoid robots that look like them will become everybody’s friends. And now, in the industrial world, research and development of humanoid robots is accelerating. The day when the son of science coexists with human society may be approaching reality. How far have humanoid robots come and where are they going? Let’s follow their footsteps. Robots in a fantasy world In short, robots are defined differently in academic, industrial, and artistic worlds. In particular, it seems the robots that live in the world of science fiction are […]

Imagine a future where humanoid robots are dispatched to disaster sites or play a key support role in elderly care. Although a scene from a science-fiction movie might spring to mind, many people may find it hard to imagine how robots would actually function in the real world. One company working in earnest to practicalize humanoid robots is Kawasaki Heavy Industries, or Kawasaki. Two years have passed since the company debuted its concept humanoid robot at the International Robot Exhibition (iREX) 2017. At iREX 2019, held at Tokyo Big Sight from December 18 to 21, 2019, Kawasaki unveiled Kaleido, an evolved version humanoid robot equipped for a role in real-world […]

Society has been expanding its expectations of the role robots play, looking at them to combat issues such as a declining population due to an aging society and frequently occurring natural disasters.Collaborative robots (cobots) are attracting the attention of industries—some can coexist and work in the same space as humans, and others cooperate with humans working on the same operations. With robots helping take over tasks physically demanding on humans, or supporting humans in an operation, new approaches in how humans and robots work together and new social systems are gradually appearing. Kawasaki Heavy Industries, or Kawasaki, whose robotics business has a history dating back over 50 years, is a […]