Hitachi's Robot Closer to Becoming Real-Life Assistant
From: Associated Press - 11/23/2007
By: Yuri Kageyama

Hitachi recently demonstrated the EMIEW 2, a small robot designed to be an
office assistant. EMIEW 2 is capable of maneuvering on two wheeled legs or on
four legs for better mobility, can recognize speech, and is small and light
enough to be carried around by a person. The original EMIEW contained all the
computer functions internally but was considered too heavy to safely coexist
with humans in an office situation. EMIEW 2 wirelessly communicates with a
computing unit to make the robot lighter, which caused some problems during a
recent demonstration. A surge of wireless communications during the
demonstration caused EMIEW 2 to lose contact with its computing unit and
smash into a desk. Later, the robot was able to successfully complete the
task it was attempting, but there was also another moment when the robot
stood motionless for several moments. Developers of the robot acknowledge
that kinks need to be worked out, particularly so it can receive wireless
communications without interruption. "We are studying what hurdles need to be
overcome to make robots practical," says Hitachi researcher Takashi Teramoto.
Several Japanese companies have developed similar robots, including
human-like robots developed by Honda and Toyota that are used to give tours
at the automakers' facilities and the Aibo robotic dog developed by Sony. 

Read the entire article at:
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,312420,00.html

Links:
Hitachi Mechanical Engineering Research laboratory
http://www.hqrd.hitachi.co.jp/merle/emiew.cfm

Hitachi unveils 'fastest robot'
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4351639.stm

Hitachi Develops a Robot that has the Capabilities for Daily Life and that
   Moves in Response to Dialogs with People
http://www.hitachi.com/New/cnews/050315a.html

EMIEW bot now able to mingle without maiming
http://robots.engadget.com/2006/09/12/emiew-bot-now-able-to-mingle-without-maiming/

New Hitachi robot crashes during test run
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21916829/