I, Roommate: The Robot Housekeeper Arrives
From: New York Times
By: Mark Allen

 
" . . .  The fantasy of a home robot capable of performing household chores
is as old as science fiction itself, but the reality has been slow to arrive.
For all the dazzling robotic feats showcased last month at the World Expo in
Aichi, Japan, an event that included robots that drew portraits and hit
fastballs, a humanoid device that can walk on two legs, or even maintain
balance, is still very much a work in progress. Never mind one capable of
doing household chores.  

A breakthrough of sorts came in April, when ZMP Inc., a company based in
Tokyo, released Nuvo, a robot designed to be a helpmate and home companion.
(Nuvo sells for about $6,000.) 

Home robots have been slow to materialize because their weight and size tend
to make them impractical and their clusters of sophisticated motors drive the
cost out of reach. Nuvo is only 15 inches tall and contains 15 motors, about
half the number found in prototypes developed by Honda and Sony.  

Nuvo has been marketed as a household helpmate and as a mobile baby monitor
and security device, because it can relay photographs to cellphones that have
access to the Internet. 

'In Japan the population is slowly getting older,' said Nobuko Imanishi, a
ZMP spokeswoman. 'Home robots can offer wonderful help and companionship for
elderly people.' . . . ."  

" . . .  My boyfriend called me the next day and asked if I was sleeping in
the same room with Nuvo. When I told him we were sleeping in the same bed,
there was an awkward pause.  . . ."  

" . . .The next version of Nuvo, expected out next year, will be capable of
reading appointments from a programmable calendar and reciting e-mail
messages, traffic reports and news headlines retrieved from the Internet,
sort of like a Roomba vacuum crossed with a BlackBerry.  

Most important, the next version of Nuvo will have more human
characteristics, Ms. Imanishi said. ZMP believes it will help connect people
and machines. . . .     " 

Read the entire article at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/14/garden/14robot.html?th&emc=th

Contributed by: David Wysocki

Links:
Nuvo
http://nuvo.jp/nuvo_home_e.html

ZMP
http://www.zmp.co.jp/e_home.html

Japanese robot start-up ZMP Inc. unveils new Robot Nuvo. 
http://www.i4u.com/article1220.html
http://www.i4u.com/article3169.html

Nuvo - ZMP's New Walking Robot
http://brick-labs.com/news/82/nuvo-zmps-new-walking-robot

Japanese Company Unveils Walking Robot
http://www.rednova.com/news/stories/3/2004/03/03/story002.html

The cool NUVO robot hits the streets
http://www.onrobo.com/content/view/85/2/

Robots Safety Dance
http://sjc.blog.uvm.edu/archives/2005/04/robots_safety_d_1.html
