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| == '''[[ASIMO]]''' ==
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| {{Image|The New ASIMO.jpg|right|200px|The New ASIMO introduced in 2005.}} | | ==Footnotes== |
| '''ASIMO''' (アシモ ''ashimo'') is the world's most advanced [[humanoid]] robot, developed by the [[Japan]]ese company [[Honda]]. The first ASIMO was completed after 15 years of research, and it was officially unveiled on October 31, 2000. The robot resembles a small astronaut wearing a backpack, and is capable of performing a variety of tasks, including running, kicking a ball, walking up and down stairs, and recognizing people by their appearance and voice. The name is short for "'''A'''dvanced '''S'''tep in '''I'''nnovative '''MO'''bility" and is also known as an abbreviation of ''ashita no'' mobility, meaning 'mobility in the future.'<ref name="masatokenichi14">Masato, Hirose and Ogawa Kenichi, 2006. "Honda Humanoid Robots Development." pp. 14</ref> It was named in reference to [[Isaac Asimov]], an American professor and science fiction writer who is credited with coining the term ''robotics'' and proposing the [[Three Laws of Robotics]].
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| === Design concept ===
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| <blockquote>"Following in the steps of Honda motorcycles, cars and power products. Honda has taken up a new challenge in mobility - the development of a two-legged humanoid robot that can walk."<ref name="asimomain">"ASIMO Technology." ''Honda Worldwide''. Honda Motor Co.,Ltd. Web. 24 Aug. 2011. <http://world.honda.com/ASIMO/technology/>.</ref></blockquote>
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| Bipedal movement has been the primary focus of Honda's humanoid robotic research to create general-purpose, intelligent robots that can "coexist and cooperate with [[humans]]",<ref name=" ">Pfeiffer, Friedrich, and Hirochika Inoue, 2007. "Walking: Technology and Biology." pp. 5</ref> since it began in 1986 with the development of the 'E0' prototype. While there existed many different visions of futuristic robots, such as R2-D2 and C-3PO from [[Star Wars]], it was recognized that human-like robots with bipedal mobility are the most ideal for operating and [[human-robot interaction|interacting with humans]] in human surroundings.<ref name="masatokenichi11">Masato, Hirose and Ogawa Kenichi, 2006. "Honda Humanoid Robots Development." pp. 11</ref>
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| Based on this concept, ASIMO's design concerns three main elements, which are human-friendliness, adaptability to the human environment, and engineering feasibility. The robot's height was set at 120 cm (or 130 cm in the case of second-generation ASIMO), which is similar to a child's, as this would be practical both on the engineering aspect (since a smaller and lighter robot is less challenging than an adult-sized robot such as the P2 prototype) and the question of operability in the environment, where light switches are normally located 110 cm from the floor. With less bulk, the robot would be able to move more efficiently in handling obstacles and narrow passages,<ref name="masatokenichi15">Masato, Hirose and Ogawa Kenichi, 2006. "Honda Humanoid Robots Development." pp. 15</ref> and it would also be less overwhelming presence to humans and, in case of accidents, less hazardous.
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| Its humanoid form that is not only functionally but also proportionally similar to the [[human anatomy|human body]] was meant to enhance its human and environment-friendly qualities by allowing it to make gestures and communicate face-to-face, as well as using the stairs or taking seat in a car. Its strikingly minimalist appearance, which lacks a detailed face and toes on its feet, provides fewer moving parts as rooms for error, while being clearly discernible to humans as consisting of a head, torso, arms, hands, legs, and feet. ASIMO being a popular icon, its design has contributed to the conceptual diversity of futuristic robots, based on a very unique design language of modern Japanese aesthetics.<ref name="aestheticsmansfield">Mansfield, Stephen. "Japanese Aesthetics and High-Tech Design." Nov. 2001. ''J@pan Inc''. Japan Inc Communications, Inc. Web. 10 Oct. 2011. <http://www.japaninc.com/article.php?articleID=515>.</ref>
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| Honda has suggested several future uses for robots like the ASIMO, which, despite its impressive list of feats and features, remains an experimental technology demonstrator that needs to operate in controlled, predictable environment. With further advances, ASIMO could be engaged in useful tasks such as elderly care assistance, [[firefighting]], and toxic cleanup.<ref name="asimotechguide18">"ASIMO Technical Guide". pp. 18</ref> At the present, the ASIMO is being leased to companies for receptionist work.<ref name="sakagamietal2478">Sakagami, et al, 2002. ''The Intelligent ASIMO: System Overview and Integration''. pp. 2478</ref>
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| ''[[ASIMO|.... (read more)]]''
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| ! style="text-align: center;" | [[ASIMO#notes|notes]]
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The Irvin pin. The eyes have always been red, but there are
urban legends about the meanings of other colors.
A pin from another company, possibly Switlik or Standard Parachute. This style is common in catalogs and auctions of military memorabilia.
The Caterpillar Club is an informal association of people who have successfully used a parachute to bail out of a disabled aircraft. After authentication by the parachute maker, applicants receive a membership certificate and a distinctive lapel pin.
History
Before April 28, 1919 there was no way for a pilot to jump out of a plane and then to deploy a parachute. Parachutes were stored in a canister attached to the aircraft, and if the plane was spinning, the parachute could not deploy. Film industry stuntman Leslie Irvin developed a parachute that the pilot could deploy at will from a back pack using a ripcord. He joined the Army Air Corps parachute research team, and in April 1919 he successfully tested his design, though he broke his ankle during the test. Irvin was the first person to make a premeditated free fall jump from an airplane. He went on to form the Irving Airchute Company, which became a large supplier of parachutes. (A clerical error resulted in the addition of the "g" to Irvin and this was left in place until 1970, when the company was unified under the title Irvin Industries Incorporated.) The Irvin brand is now a part of Airborne Systems, a company with operations in Canada, the U.S. and the U.K.[1].
An early brochure [2] of the Irvin Parachute Company credits William O'Connor 24 August 1920 at McCook Field near Dayton, Ohio as the first person to be saved by an Irvin parachute, but this feat was unrecognised. On 20 October 1922 Lieutenant Harold R. Harris, chief of the McCook Field Flying Station, jumped from a disabled Loening W-2A monoplane fighter. Shortly after, two reporters from the Dayton Herald, realising that there would be more jumps in future, suggested that a club should be formed. 'Caterpillar Club' was suggested because the parachute canopy was made of silk, and because caterpillars have to climb out of their cocoons and fly away. Harris became the first member, and from that time forward any person who jumped from a disabled aircraft with a parachute became a member of the Caterpillar Club. Other famous members include General James Doolittle, Charles Lindbergh and (retired) astronaut John Glenn.
In 1922 Leslie Irvin agreed to give a gold pin to every person whose life was saved by one of his parachutes. By 1945 the number of members with the Irvin pins had grown to over 34,000. In addition to the Irvin Air Chute Company and its successors, other parachute manufacturers have also issued caterpillar pins for successful jumps. Irvin/Irving's successor, Airborne Systems Canada, still provides pins to people who made their jump long ago and are just now applying for membership. Another of these is Switlik Parachute Company, which though it no longer makes parachutes, still issues pins.
