At the forefront of hyperculture, Japan's robots are at once amazing works of art and fantastic feats of engineering. Japan has been at the vanguard of global robot development and technology since the 1970s and continues to invent new ways these machines can aid, entertain, and inspire mankind.
Robotopia Rising was a robot extravaganza that highlighted the science and culture of Japanese robotics. This groundbreaking celebration was a tribute to Japanese craftsmanship and technology as well as a preview of the future. The most sophisticated robots in the world were present, and daily shows will provided a fascinating showcase for all of their amazing talents.
Kokoro's Actroid DER2 greeted visitors throughout the festival, talking to them and even answering their questions. Developed with cuttingedge technology, including Advanced Media, Inc.'s voice recognition " AmiVoice" support, the Actroid DER2 has an astonishingly human-like appearance and a great range of gestures and facial expressions.
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd's Wakamaru can converse with people via voice and facial recognition with a vocabulary of up to 10,000 Japanese words and will be shaking visitors' hands.
Honda's Asimo was designed to operate freely in the human living space and be people-friendly. It can walk smoothly, climb stairs, communicate, and recognize people's voices and faces.
Toyota Partner Robot was developed with artificial lips that move with the same finesse as human ones, enabling it to play the trumpet.
ARTSEDGE, the Kennedy Center's arts education network, supports the creative use of technology to enhance teaching and learning in, through, and about the arts, offering free, standards-based teaching materials for use in and out of the classroom, media-rich interactive experiences, professional development resources, and guidelines for arts-based instruction and assessment. Visit ARTSEDGE at artsedge.kennedy-center.org.