Akihabara News (Tokyo) — Honda’s Asimo robot has been retired after a two-decade long career as one of the company’s mascots, extending a national trend toward the mothballing of iconic humanoid robots.
After its release in 2000, Asimo became a symbol of Japan’s anticipated future as pioneering robot society. Asimo proved capable of performing human motor functions such as walking, running, speaking, moving objects around, and more.
However, with the company’s priority now shifting towards Artificial Intelligence and perhaps a lack of practical applications for its skills, Asimo’s plug has been pulled, and all development of the humanoid robot is being discontinued.
The company hosted a retirement ceremony for Asimo, where it gave a final performance for fans and staff.
Asimo’s fate follows that of counterpart Pepper. Like Asimo, last June the iconic SoftBank humanoid robot also saw the curtains come down after a storied career as a public entertainer.
Pepper’s retirement was attributed to its lack of commercial viability and an overall drop in sales.
With Pepper and now Asimo leaving the stage, an era in Japanese robotics appears to have come to an end.
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