October 26, 2006 5:30 AM PDT
A backflipping fighting machine
Remember when the Robosapien was everywhere you turned, in any mall or shopping catalog? If only we had the KONDO KHR-2HV back then, we could have driven him into the ground like a thumbtack. OhGizmo says this roid-bot can do backflips and cartwheels with its 17 adjustable joints and "has a bigger chest for a muscular look which is sure to strike fear into the stickers used to represent their opponents eyes." Not to mention the neighbor's annoying yap dog. It's almost worth the $1,200 price for the kit.
(Photos: OhGizmo)
We'll see more competition as time goes on - for example, JR just announced the RB-2000 series and Futaba is rolling out their G-ROBOT line in Japan and the US over the next few months. Early next Spring Takara/Tomy will release their $350 humanoid. All totaled, there are over 15 different kits and complete robots being successfully marketed already here in Japan, and almost all of the manufacturers are looking for distribution partners in the US and Europe.
As I've reported on my Robots Dreams weblog (http://www.robots-dreams.com), it really looks like 2007 will be the year of the humanoid robot. Prices are coming down, functionality is going up, and market awareness is growing rapidly. As John Nagle has said, "You get 70% of ASIMO functionality for 1% of the cost."
Besides that, they are a huge amount of fun.
We'll see more competition as time goes on - for example, JR just announced the RB-2000 series and Futaba is rolling out their G-ROBOT line in Japan and the US over the next few months. Early next Spring Takara/Tomy will release their $350 humanoid. All totaled, there are over 15 different kits and complete robots being successfully marketed already here in Japan, and almost all of the manufacturers are looking for distribution partners in the US and Europe.
As I've reported on my Robots Dreams weblog (http://www.robots-dreams.com), it really looks like 2007 will be the year of the humanoid robot. Prices are coming down, functionality is going up, and market awareness is growing rapidly. As John Nagle has said, "You get 70% of ASIMO functionality for 1% of the cost."
Besides that, they are a huge amount of fun.