M3-Neony the Baby Robot

The M3-Neony baby robot is the result of work done by Japanese researchers from the University of Osaka. Professor Minoru Asada has been directing the research carried out in partnership with the JST (Japan Science and Technology Agency) since 2005. The main objective is to make the M3-Neony into a humanoid robot able to imitate the behaviour of a human baby. For the time being, the baby is independent, it can crawl on all fours, it rolls on the floor and tries to walk. It is approximately the same size of a real baby (which is a plus since in the past we have seen baby prototypes that were over 1 meter high). It measures 50 cm high and weighs 3.5 kg. On the technical side, the robot has 22 motors used in movement; its head is equipped with two video cameras and it has two microphones in its ears. It has 90 tactile sensors on its robotic skin in order to "feel" when it is touched. Below is a video of the prototype: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NpijiNVYSNs via examiner