The Pinnacle of Entertainment
Sony Corporation has redefine the word “entertainment” with QRIO, abbreviation for “Quest for cuRIOsity”, a bipedal humanoid entertainment robot following its discontinuation of AIBO (left).QRIO has recently appeared on the pitch of the RFK Stadium for
the Nationals-Mets game, throwing out the first pitch of the game (right).
The two-foot-tall humanoid can do better than that. QRIO was built to provide entertainment and I doubt many can do better. With Sony’s technology, QRIO is able to negotiate uneven surfaces, dance, recognize faces and voices and even carry out conversations.
Its fluid motion is achieved by the Intelligent Servo Actuator (ISA), a drive system for the robot’s joints and limbs that involves motors, gears, a computer and a multitude of sensors.
As if all these are not enough for entertainment, QRIO is designed to understand spoken words and learn new words other than the tens of thousands of words it knows already. Analysis of the words using voice recognition technology allows it to respond in its own words. As the time goes by, conversation with QRIO will get more and more interesting.
Did I forget something? QRIO has the ability to sing in vibrato! This is definitely something you would expect from Sony, who places great emphasis on the entertainment value. Do keep a lookup for more news on QRIO~!
Reference: http://www.sony.net/SonyInfo/QRIO/top_nf.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/07/06/AR2005070602103.html
U036418N Tan Chee Boon
