Wakamaru
Wakamaru is a friendly helper robot that can carry on conversations with people, recognize faces, and shake hands. It's been used as a domestic assistant, office receptionist, event host, and sales rep.
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Did you know?
Wakamaru is smart enough to call 911 (or the Japanese equivalent) if it suspects something is wrong.
History
The first Wakamaru prototype was developed by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries in 2003. A commercial model was introduced to the Japanese market in 2005 at a price of around US $15,000. The company called Wakamaru the "world's first communication robot," and claimed it was "highly reliable and safe in a variety of different family environments" after testing the robot in real homes in Tokyo. However, sales in Japan and abroad were much smaller than the company expected, and by 2007 the robot was mainly being used as a receptionist in corporate offices. Despite not being a commercial success, Wakamaru is recognized as a milestone in human-robot interaction and one of the first attempts at deploying advanced humanoid robots in real-world environments.
Specs
- Overview
Capable of charging its battery automatically. Has autonomous and teleoperation modes.
- Status
Inactive
- Year
2003
- Website
- Height
- 100 cm
- Weight
- 30 kg
- Speed
- 1 km/h
- Sensors
Two cameras: one omnidirectional on top of its head, and a forward-facing one on its forehead. One ultrasound and 3 infrared obstacle detection sensors. Bumper sensor to detect collisions. Microphone.
- Actuators
DC servomotors
- Degrees of Freedom (DoF)
- 13 (Head: 3 DoF; Arm: 4 DoF x 2; Mobile base: 2 DoF)
- Materials
Hard plastic exterior; metal and plastic skeleton.
- Compute
Multiple CPUs
- Software
Linux OS. Custom software.
- Power
Lithium-ion battery, 2 hours of operation
