Honda Halts Asimo Development in Favor of More Useful Humanoid Robots | Robotics

Yesterday, NHK (the Japan Broadcasting Corporation) reported that Honda has decided to cancel further development of its flagship humanoid robot, Asimo. A Honda representative who spoke with AFP said, “We will still continue research into humanoid robots, but our future robots may not be named Asimo. We have obtained lots of technologies while developing Asimo, and how to utilize them is one issue.”

It’s not like Honda is abandoning robotics completely, or even abandoning the idea of humanoid robots. Instead, it sounds like the company want to start focusing on how to apply the technology that it has to make robots that don’t just promote its brand, but actually help out with things like elder care and disaster relief. But why now, and what’s next? We have some ideas.