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A new robot plays the violin

— Photo: AFP

Striking a chord: The violin-playing robot unveiled in Tokyo on Thursday.

TOKYO: Compared to a virtuoso, its rendition was a trifle stilted and, well, robotic. But Toyota’s new robot plays a pretty solid ‘Pomp and Circumstance’ on the violin.

The 152-cm-tall all-white robot, shown on Thursday, used its mechanical fingers to press the strings correctly and bowed with its other arm, coordinating the movements well.

Toyota has already presented robots that roll around to work as guides and have fingers dexterous enough to play the trumpet.

Toyota president Katsuaki Watanabe said robotics will be a core business for it in coming years. The automobile company will test out its robots at hospitals, Toyota-related facilities and other places starting next year, he said. And the company hopes to put what it calls “partner robots” to real use by 2010.

“We want to create robots that are useful for people in everyday life,” he said here.

Mr. Watanabe and other company officials said robotics was a natural extension of the automaker’s use of robots in manufacturing, as well the development of technology for autos related to artificial intelligence, such as sensors and pre-crash safety systems.

Mr. Watanabe presented a vision of the future in which wheelchair-like “mobility robots,” called “Mobiro” — also displayed on Thursday — would offer “bed-to-bed” services to people, including the elderly and the sick, just like cars take people “door-to-door.”

In a demonstration, a man got on the mobility robot, a motorised two-wheeled chair, then scooted around. Toyota showed how the moving machine could go up and down slopes and go over bumps without upsetting the person sitting on the chair because the wheels could adjust to such changes.

The Japanese government has been pushing companies and researchers to make robotics a pillar of this nation’s business.

Toyota, maker of the Prius hybrid and best-selling Camry sedan, has been a relative latecomer in robots compared to its domestic rival Honda, as well as other companies, including Hitachi, Fujitsu and NEC.

Honda has been working on robots since 1986, recognising the technology as critical for its future in delivering mobility for the future. It is showing the latest technology in its own robot — the Asimo humanoid — next week. Asimo — which stands for Advanced Step in Innovative Mobility and is play on the Japanese word for “legs” — first became available for rental in 2000. It is considered one of the world’s most advanced humanoids. Seen often at Honda and other events, it can walk, even jog, wave, avoid obstacles and carry on simple conversations.

The 130-cm-tall bubble-headed Asimo looks like a real-life child in a white space-suit, as it has grown smaller and lighter in size with innovations over the years.

Trying to one-up its rival, Toyota has been aggressively improving its robotics team. In August, it announced that it was teaming up with Sony, which discontinued its Aibo dog-like robot last year, to develop an innovative, intelligent, single-seat vehicle.

Toyota said it is working with universities and its group companies to speed up robotics development, but ruled out a collaboration with Honda for the time being.

A Toyota official said technology it has developed in industrial manufacturing and automotive engineering would “spiral up” into robots. “We hope to create a robot that highlights Toyota’s strengths.”

An automobile analyst said it was still unclear whether Toyota’s robotics would bear fruit as a real business. But he praised Toyota for trying to branch into new sectors, noting that it is likely to produce innovations that will in the long run be a plus for its auto business. — AP

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