- TOKYO (AFP) -- Japanese consumer
electronics giant Sony on Thursday unveiled the world's first "running"
robot.
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- Sony's humanoid robot QRIO can jog at a speed of 14 meters
(46 feet) a minute, Sony Corp. spokesman Daichi Yamafuji said.
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- "Like human beings, this robot can run and move
forward, although its speed is slower than the walking speed of humans,"
Yamafuji said.
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- Weighing seven kilograms (15 pounds), silver metallic
QRIO is 58 centimeters (23 inches) tall, with eyes beaming blue lights.
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- A prototype QRIO hopped around in front of journalists,
showing its legs could actually lose contact with the stage floor. It also
demonstrated other motions, such as throwing a baseball pitch and dancing
with fans in its hands.
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- "It is the world's first running robot and it took
us three years to develop it," the spokesman said, but declined to
give costs involving the development.
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- Sony has no plans to market QRIO.
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- The company has so far sold 130,000 units of popular
robot entertainment dog AIBO since its original edition was launched in
1999. AIBO is priced at 185,000 yen (1,700 dollars) a piece.
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- Japan's robot business is the world's largest. The nation's
third-largest automaker Honda unveiled the world's first walking robot
ASIMO in 2000.
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- ASIMO can walk faster at a pace of 1.6 kilometres (1.0
mile) an hour, or 27 meters per minute, but it is much taller than QRIO
and thus has a longer stride.
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- Sony also unveiled its first experimental walking robot
SDR-3X last three years ago and QRIO is an improved version of SDR-3X.
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