ASIMO

ASIMO, short for Advanced Step in Innovative Mobility, is a humanoid robot developed by Honda Motor Co. It first appeared in public in 2000 and was designed to serve as a multi-functional mobile assistant capable of operating in human environments and interacting with people.

ASIMO represents the culmination of Honda's early humanoid research, following a series of stepping-stone prototypes. Its design combines bipedal locomotion with advanced sensing, perception, and control systems. The robot uses onboard sensors to maintain balance, perceive its surroundings, and recognize faces and voices, enabling simple conversations and task execution. With a two-legged form, ASIMO could walk across varied floors, climb stairs, grasp and manipulate objects, and perform routine duties such as delivering items or opening doors. It served primarily as a research platform and public demonstration tool rather than a consumer product.

Over its lifecycle, Honda released several iterations aimed at improving balance, speed, autonomy, and dexterity, making ASIMO a well-known symbol of humanoid robotics. The project highlighted real-world locomotion and human–robot interaction challenges and influenced subsequent research in the field.

In 2018, Honda announced that it would pause development and end production of ASIMO, reallocating resources to other robotics initiatives. The ASIMO platform remains a notable milestone in the history of humanoid robotics and is frequently cited in discussions of legged locomotion and assistive technology.