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ROBOT AMBASSADOR 113

During part of the step, the robot’s motors may be actually pushing
back against the leg to slow it down to the desired speed.
The researchers at the three universities studied this downhill
motion and realized that the same general stroke could be used for
walking uphill or on level ground. An initial push from a motor
(directly or indirectly) substitutes for the energy that comes from
gravity on a downhill walk. The result is a surprisingly simple way
to simulate a humanlike gait. It is estimated that this way of walking
would use only about a tenth as much energy as Asimo. With bat-
tery capacity being such an important factor in the design of mobile
robots, this could be a big “win.”
Wherever the next steps of a new generation of humanoid robots
take them, Masato Hirose and his Honda team have shown the world
a new face of robotics—with Asimo as its friendly ambassador.

Chronology

1956 Masato Hirose born February 7 in Tochigi Prefecture, Japan
1970s Honda begins push for advanced control technology
1980 Hirose graduates from Utsunomiya University with a degree
in precision engineering

1986 Honda sets up Wako Research center for robotics
Hirose goes to work for Honda as a robotics researcher
1987–91 Honda researchers study dynamic walking in a variety of
animals
1994 P1 appears. It is claimed to be the first true humanoid walking

robot
1996 Hirose’s group demonstrates P2, the fi rst fully independent
humanoid robot with all computing done on board

1997 Honda shows the smaller, more agile P3 robot
2000 Honda reveals Asimo in November