On November 20th, 2000, Asimo was unveiled in Tokyo. Asimo stands for “Advanced Step (in) Innovative Mobility.”

This original version of Asimo is 120 cm tall and weighs 43 kg. Asimo(2000) has 6 DoF in each leg, 5 DoF in each arm, 1 DoF in each hand, and 2 DoF in its head for a total of 26 DoF. Each actuator is made up of an electric motor combined with a harmonic gearbox. Powered by a 38.4V 10 Ah Ni-MH battery, Asimo(2000) has a battery life of approximately 30 minutes. The battery takes 4 hours to charge, and can be easily swapped. Asimo(2000) has a top speed of 1.6 km/h. Asimo(2000)’s second public apperance was alongside P3 at Robodex 2000 on the 23rd of November, 2000.

Asimo (2001)

On November 12th, 2001, a minor revision to Asimo was unveiled. Asimo(2001) had better localization and path planning. Startup time was reduced from 40 minutes to 4 minutes. Asimo(2001) can process voice commands on board and recognize the direction of a source of sound. Asimo(2001) also lacks the cable conduits behind the legs that Asimo(2000) had. Asimo(2001) also no longer needs a large workstation, and can be monitored from a laptop.

Asimo (2002)

On March 06, 2002, Asimo was leased by the IBM Innovation Center in Toyko to guide customers to meeting rooms and to pose for photos. According to Forbes, Asimo(2002) costs $150,000 to lease per month. Asimo was also leased to two museums (the Miraikan and assuming Twin Ring Motegi?) On December 5th, 2002, another revision to Asimo was made. Asimo(2002) can recognize and track faces, human gestures, and moving objects. Asimo(2002) can also connect to the internet to provide news and weather updates.

Asimo Variants

Variants: red, green, silver, blue, blue (different face), dark blue(?), clear, and HITS Robocup.

Notes: Looking for more information on HITS Robocup 2003. Also looking for more color variations. How many made? About 20. More information about leases. More information on appearances.