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With the continuous advent of newer and advanced robotic technologies, Robots are becoming increasingly sophisticated and lifelike, taking us close to the world of artificial intelligence. Essentially, these man-made versions of animal life can now easily replicate most of the animal and human behavior. Over the times, we have seen various kinds of robots including the Motoman humanoid robot that cooks Okonomiyaki with manual precision, Honda’s new Asimo, Toyota’s violin playing robot and the REEM-B Humanoid Service robot that can perform tasks automatically or with guidance. This time we have is HUBO II, a newer faster version of HUBO, which is described to be a 40-DOF full size walking Humanoid Robot originally developed by the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST). HUBO II is now in commercial production stage by Rainbow Co., an enterprise licenced by KAIST, and will be available for service at a price of $400,000.

Coming so far from mastering the very basics of robotic mobility, HUBO II, the latest from KAIST, is a robot with advanced flexible limbs that allow it to do push-ups and completely bend down. With 45 kg of weight and 1.3m of height, HUBO II is a full-sized humanoid robot which differs from toy-sized small ones.

The HUBO II’s flexible hands are another noted achievement; it allows this humanoid robot to accomplish various tasks ranging from opening the car doors to operating a gear shift and to hold nearly 7kg of weight. KAIST this time has used ‘individually actuated’ fingers that work to adapt to the shape of anything this robot is holding. This technically advanced robot can now walk 2 km on a single charge, with an increased running speed of 4 kph, instead of earlier of 3 kph.

So far, nine HUBO II has been successfully delivered to research institutes and universities in the United States and Singapore.  For more information click HERE and HERE. (BornRich)