Toyota develops violin-playing robot
Though Toyota sells a helluva lot more cars around the world than Honda, sometimes we think it suffers from an inferiority complex with its cross town rival. C'mon, in addition to cars, Honda makes jets, motorcycles, generators, lawn mowers and ASIMO, the creepy walking, running, dancing robot that we love to see fall down. Well, Toyota makes robots too, and it's just unveiled one with 17 joints in both of its hands and arms that can play the violin, a demonstration of the dexterity that can now be installed in our future robot overlords. No doubt in fifty years we'll be receiving lashes from robots that use this same technology to tightly grip and swing their whips when we slack off from mining unobtanium in Siberia. We can't wait, thanks a bunch Toyota. Did Terminator 2 teach us nothing?
At the same time, Toyota has also debuted a Mobility Robot that looks like a cross between a wheel chair and a gleaming white porcelain toilet. Its claim to fame is being able to follow a person, travel up 10-degree grades and avoiding obstacles. Sounds like all useful skills in the coming Robot Wars. [Source: Toyota]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
hyperv6 6:08PM (12/06/2007)
Must have needed a tax write off?
They should have done a Guitar Hero robot to go with the game, that could have made money.
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tankd0g 6:20PM (12/06/2007)
The Japanese really seem to be planing for a future where most of them are invalids.
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Dog Rocky 6:14PM (12/06/2007)
Doesn't seem like this is a new development. They have had this robot display in their museum in Japan for the public to see for almost a year now.
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Schwag of Tulsa 6:39PM (12/06/2007)
Is that a Yamaha violin it's playing?
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Dan 6:38PM (12/06/2007)
I always find it funny that all of these robots do random tasks like play the violin or ballroom dance. I don't even know any humans that do those things anymore!
They should make a robot that drives a car, or makes me a ham and cheese sandwich with a touch of mayo, not one that only does Medieval scripture writing.
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BILL 6:57PM (12/06/2007)
And to think I thought Toyota was just stringing us along.................badda-bing!
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Franz 6:58PM (12/06/2007)
You know which headline I'd like to see? "Toyota develops new affordable RWD sports car."
Violin playing robot... jeez.
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nj 7:13PM (12/06/2007)
I want to see this thing fight Asimo!
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AK 7:14PM (12/06/2007)
I for one welcome our violin-playing, toilet-impersonating robot overlords.
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Tull 10:00PM (12/06/2007)
made me giggle quite a bit
Dave 7:22PM (12/06/2007)
Neat, but I'd prefer it if they just started making quality cars again.
Too many recalls and issues raised by multiple sources concerning the slip in product quality need to be addressed.
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TC 7:30PM (12/06/2007)
So now is Toyota going to working this robot to death? Or until it breaks apart?
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Felix 7:45PM (12/06/2007)
1st off, thank you autoblog for occasionally throwing us articles that are completely rediculous. It's one of the reasons I read this blog.
2nd @ Shwag of Tulsa
It would not surprise me one bit if it was a yamaha. My 1988 Toyota Celica all-trac had it's venerable turbocharged 3s-GTE engine which was, in fact built by Yamaha. The 2zz engine in the most recent celica was also a yamaha unit. Toyota long trusted yamaha to build the most important part for many of it's performance cars. And why change this when it comes to building robots.
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Franz 7:58PM (12/06/2007)
The 20 valve 4AGE motor was developed with Yamaha too. That motor is pretty good as well. I dunno if they still use it, but it used to run in the Toyota Atlantic series as well as Group A in JGTC.
Temple 10:06PM (12/06/2007)
The 419hp 5.0L V-8 in the new Lexus IS-F is also made by Yamaha.
John R 7:53PM (12/06/2007)
I tell 'em! I keep telling people, Gundam and Macross is only 50 years away! hate it or love it.
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summazooma 8:41PM (12/06/2007)
Amazed that so few recognize just what, at least, Honda is doing with this robot... Like everything else that they do, these exercises are baby steps toward a bigger breakthrough, revolution through evolution. That's another brand of the "Honda way" and, I assume, Toyota has noticed.
Honda tests (& is furthering) artificial intelligence, x-by-wire technologies (sensors, actuators, maybe even nano-tech) that can and, inevitably will be applied to vehicles.
Trust me, this is no toilet on wheels or legs...
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Schwag of Tulsa 9:30PM (12/06/2007)
Aw shucks, Yamaha did a lot of work on the Toyota 200GT back in the '60's. They've done engine development work for Nissan and Ford and others.
But I wonder. Was the robot was programmed according to the Suzuki method?
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caddydave 9:51PM (12/06/2007)
Playing a sad tear jerking violin for all those sad teary eyed Tundra owners.
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Schmeltz 8:11AM (12/07/2007)
If these robots ever come to market, I wonder if they will be Autobots, or Decepticons?
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