Gizmo::Robots show off at CEATEC

The fledgling home robotics market is set to become a multi-billion dollar global industry over the next decade and many of the technologies that will underpin the coming revolution – like those showcased last month at CEATEC Japan 2003 – are already with us.

Several leading robotics manufacturers demonstrated advances in movement, dexterity and intelligence at CEATEC (Combined Exhibition of Advanced Technologies) which adopted the theme ‘Ubiquitous Community-Forward to the Next Stage.’

Among them was HOAP-2, a robot trained in the Chinese martial art called taijiquan from Fujitsu that can stomp like a sumo wrestler and even stand on its head. Fujitsu plans to market a limited number of the robots to universities and companies in 2004.

“gmorph 3” from Wind River Systems also demonstrated exceptional agility and dexterity – its array of pressure sensors and 30 compact motors allow the robot to walk upright and perform complex movements including back flips.

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