ASIA–PACIFIC – JAPAN, AUGUST 16, 2013 – Dentsu’s Kirobo, the first talking human robot, has arrived at the International Space Station (ISS).
Kirobo is an Astro-boy inspired creation that is 34cm tall and weighs about 1kg. Kirobo’s name was derived from Japanese words “hope” and “robot”. He accompanies astronaut Koichi Wakata for his trip to ISS.. While Kirobo is in the space, its counterpart Mirata stays on earth as a lookout, in case Kirobo encounters any problems out there.
The two robots are programmed in Japanese, and can recognize human voice and have programmed responses, actions and emotions for conversations. They can also record their conversations with whoever they may talk to.
Kirobo and Mirata were built by scientists and engineers in collaboration with Dentsu. Other partners are Toyota Motor Corporation, Robo Garage and the University of Tokyo.
The Kibo Robot Project aims to visualizehope of the future. Its creators believe that robots can interact with humans and will solve the problems of the society.
Tomotaka Takahashi, founder of ROBO-GARAGE, said: “I wish for this robot to function as a mediator between a person and machine, or a person and the internet, and sometimes even between people.”
