Robovie R3

After Robovie R2 in the desktop robot version 3 weeks ago, there's now Robovie R3, a full-size version. This humanoid robot is human sized and is intended to support the elderly and handicapped. Designed by ATR and VStone, this prototype moves at a speed of 2.5 km/h and its movements have already been tested in shopping malls in Japan. Robovie R3 has 11 touch sensors, 2 video cameras for the eyes, 1 loudspeaker for the mouth and two microphones for the ears, as well as a laser detector for obstacles. For now it's only intended for universities and research institutes. It costs about 40,000 US dollars. via pp