Since its debut in 2000, Asimo has become a symbol of
But Honda stopped all development of Asimo in recent years after last upgrading in 2011 to give it the ability to make autonomous decisions such as avoiding bumping into someone while walking.
In September last year, the Japanese automaker announced a plan to develop an avatar robot, allowing a user to operate it virtually from a remote location. The new robot will be equipped with a multi-fingered hand and an original AI-supported remote control function, the company said.
Ahead of Asimo's final performance, fans including parents with children visited the Honda showroom to meet and say good-bye to the child-sized robot, which looks as if it is wearing a spacesuit.
Honda said it will continue sales of Asimo goods after the robot's retirement, keeping the character active. Asimo stands for Advanced Step in Innovative Mobility.
Asimo has demonstrated its human-like abilities overseas too. In 2002, the year marking the 25th anniversary of Honda's listing on the
In 2014, when then
The robot had since been demonstrating its human-like abilities at the science museum as well as the Honda showroom.
==Kyodo
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