The Taipei International Robot Show (TIROS) 2012 runs from August 29th~31st this week, where 450 exhibitors from around the world are demonstrating their latest technology products and projects.  Visitors can check out the latest automated guided vehicles, vacuum cleaners, lawn mowers, and hobby kits dancing in traditional dress, to name just a few.

In recent years Taiwan has been investing in factory automation robots and is gradually moving towards the research and development of service robots.  Following the lead of other countries in Asia and Europe, Taiwanese experts believe that Taiwan’s aging population will need the added support.

However it is HugBot, a friendly polar bear, which has quickly become the star of the show.   Made by Taiwanese company UrRobot, the robot hugs you for five to six seconds to measure your pulse. It is equipped with a microphone to detect when you are ready before opening its arms to wait for your embrace.  The company says it could find a place in elementary schools, amusement parks, and children’s hospitals.

Around fourteen examples from Taiwan have been grouped together as examples of the nation’s prowess. One of these, from researchers at National Formosa University, is the Super Black Mamba, a biomimetic robot which imitates the smooth motion of a snake.Next year researchers will begin testing surgical robots for the first time, which are less invasive and thus shorten recovery time.  A few more photos and a video follow after the break.

[sources: HiNet, Lihpao, (CN)]

Having previously programmed his Kondo KHR-3HV hobby robot to walk on stilts and ride a bicycle, the good Dr. Guero is now refining the robot’s overall balance.  The pseudonym is a reference to a character from the popular manga and animated television series Dragon Ball Z, for a scientist who has worked at Japan’s National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology and Boston Dynamics.

To begin with you’ll notice the robot’s feet have been trimmed down considerably (technical details aren’t readily available, but it appears from the wires in the above photo that he has placed new sensors there).  Of course it is able to balance on one foot (something most hobby robot kits can do quite easily on a flat surface), but things are taken a step further by placing weights on the robot’s extremities, which appear to have little effect on its balance.  The robot is then shown walking forwards and backwards (without rotation) on an incline, and reacting to external disturbances by quickly side-stepping.

Japan’s real life 4 meter tall robot project (the one by Hajime Sakamoto, not to be confused with the KURATAS) was demonstrated live this weekend at a Monozukuri festival.  Monozukuri is a term which translates along the lines of “crafting things” or “manufacturing”.  As we’ve mentioned in previous articles, Hajime Sakamoto has been crafting humanoid robots for many years.  His smaller robots are the preferred platform by RoboCup soccer teams from Japan and Germany.  His stated goal is to one day build a working version of the Gundam mobile suits.

For the uninitiated, Gundam is a long-running animated television series that is as popular in Japan as Star Wars is in the United States.  The stories, which have mesmerized viewers for more than 30 years, revolve around military conflicts between Earth and its interplanetary colonies.  The stars of the show are often the pilots of the mobile suits, which supplement the armies’ fleet of space ships.  In recent years the series has been celebrated with a life-sized statue of its titular robot, but Sakamoto won’t be satisfied until he sees one walking.  That’s where the 4 meter robot steps into the picture.

It’s not every Friday we can bring you a selection of cool robot videos, but this week we can!  We begin with this short interview with Kogoro Kurata, the creator of the world famous KURATAS mecha.  Having joined YouTube less than one month ago, his videos have already racked up more than 3,000,000 views.  Now we get to meet the man behind the mecha, and thankfully the video comes with English subtitles.