It is with great sadness and regret that we must report that Asimo, Honda’s humanoid robot, will grace this land no more. Honda has ceased development of Asimo, thus bringing the 18-year story and/or life of the child-sized robot-child to a close.
Development for Asimo began back in 1986, but it wasn’t until 2000 that the original Asimo appeared, becoming the first robot to walk on two legs. Asimo’s technology, however, will live on, as Honda plans to put it toward physical therapy and self-driving cars, reports Nikkei Asian Review.
Asimo’s life was filled with light and simple pleasures and gawping public demonstrations of its very soul. It had the uncanny ability to tackle every situation, good or bad, without dropping its perpetually cheery demeanor, because it was offered no other choice of demeanors.
It enjoyed an afternoon with famed British hair model, James May.
It played soccer with President Barack Obama.
It explored Disneyland.
It paid a visit to Brooklyn Bridge Park.
It celebrated its 10th birthday with a spectacular cake, surrounded by friends, programmers, and loved ones.
It walked through a large building.
It’s true that Asimo lived a rather Benjamin Button-esque life, where it began its early days clumsy and archaic, a hulking robot seemingly beset with arthritis and possibly bone development issues, and then slowly developing into the sleek, advanced robot that we all came to know and love.
But we also cannot deny that Asimo lived a fuller life than any of us could wish for. It traveled the world and met scores of new and interesting people.
While its life was short, it was still able to complete a bucket list that most of us could never even dream of. But despite that impressive bucket list, it was never able to achieve one final, beautiful goal.
To be a real boy.
via The Verge