You might know about ATR from other Robovie human-friendly robots, but this time we are talking about a “life-sized” robot. A project they have developed together with Vstone, this humanoid robot will be aiding in research regarding the elderly and the disabled. It is called the Robovie R3 and it is capable of “walking” at 2.5 Km per hour speeds and is equipped with gripper-hands.

The newly developed platform robot from ATR and Vstone will be tested in public spaces such as malls, where it could work as an assistant for the elderly. It is capable of detecting and overcoming slight obstacles like variations of the floor's height and has the same look in its eyes as the robovie-mR2. That is probably because its eyes are also made out of webcams, one USB camera for each eye and because ATR usually makes friendly-looking robots.

The R3 also features 11 touch sensors, two mono microphones placed in its ears and a speaker that will work as its mouth. It is controllable via remote control, which further enhances the scenarios it can be used in. The Robovie R3 will be available to research institutions for a price of about $41,000 with some more optional features such as a laser range finder.

Seen on engadget, this robot is supposed to be able to travel in an omnidirectional way, reminding me of the Honda U3-X automotive gadget. We don't know how this Robovie R3 manages to travel in an omnidirectional way, nor when it is expected to land in public test sites.

While this is regularly operated via PC robot, I guess it will act as some sort of guide for the disabled or the elderly, in the same way those funny-looking knee-high robots do at the Santander Group Financial Complex. Or perhaps the Robovie R3 could be integrated in homes as well, like the French Kompai Robot.


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