ASIMO: The advanced humanoid

ASIMO has been in development for 26 years. He can now run, jump, climb stairs, make drinks and shake hands, so his physical development is going well. The key to future progress is to take advantage of new tech such as ever-faster processors and the much-anticipated quantum computers.

ASIMO uses brushless servomotors that allow a very high degree of motion accuracy. Miniaturisation of the gearboxes and motors has been made possible by advanced materials such as magnesium alloys and neodymium magnets.

ASIMO has a magnesium skeleton, but a switch to carbon- fibre composites will benefit him greatly as it’s both lighter and stronger. ASIMO relies heavily on a predictive algorithm that anticipates the most likely requirements of the limbs before moving them.

This type of pre-emptive control is an exciting area as it’s only limited by computing capability, so it may not be long before ASIMO can not only move but also think for himself.