Twitter Reacts as Honda Pulls the Plug on its Humanoid Robot Asimo

Honda’s Asimo was first seen in 2000. Eighteen years later, Honda pulled the plug on the humanoid robot.

(Photo Courtesy: Honda)

Japanese manufacturer Honda has announced that it has pulled the plug on its famous robot Asimo.

The development for the robot had started in the 1980s and we first saw Asimo in 2000. It was seen as a significant step towards the development of robotics.

Asimo was never a commercial product for Honda, it was more of a research product.

The humanoid robot is the result of two decades of work by Honda engineers. Asimo can run, walk on uneven slopes and surfaces, turn smoothly, climb stairs, and reach for and grasp objects. It can also comprehend and respond to simple voice commands and has the ability to recognise the face of a select group of individuals.

Using its camera eyes, Asimo can map its environment and register stationary objects. The robot can also avoid moving obstacles as it moves through its environment.

However, Asimo's retirement does not mean the end of Honda's plans towards robotic development. Engineers from the Asimo team have moved to an R&B division charged with Honda's robotic strategy, ZDNet reported.

Honda had also unveiled four personal robots at the 2018 CES. They have also teamed up with a handful of smaller companies who are focused on robotics-adjacent technologies and AI research.

As the news of Asimo’s retirement spread, several people took to Twitter to bid the robot a goodbye:

(With inputs from ZDNet.)