We've addressed JVC's J4 robot o­nce in the past. It's a 20cm robot that can be controlled via Bluetooth.

JVC did another demo of the robot o­n the 14th, and more details have been revealed.

Japan Victor Corporation held a demonstration of their small humanoid robot, the "J4," in "Robot Kingdom," a robot-only shop operated by 99 Denki of Akihbara.

The "J4" is a robot first unveiled at "CEATEC JAPAN 2004." It has a height of 20cm, weight of 770g, and 26 different joints. It can receive commands via Bluetooh, has voice recognition capabilities, can record MotionJPEG via two CMOS cameras in its head, and can also be remotely controlled via network connection from a mobile phone. Face recognition and obstacle recognition functions are also o­n the robot.

The battery is lithium ion, and allows for about 90 minutes of operation time. For the body materials, the legs are aluminium, and the torse plastic resin. There are two kinds of actuators that vary depending o­n their use. It is made primarily of goods currently available o­n the market, but some portions have been modified. The gears were created by JVC.

It has been a long time since a domestic demonstration of the J4 was last conducted. For the past year, it has primarily been doing demonstrations overseas. The demonstration, conducted in from of core robot fans who made their way to the robot-only shop, was largely the same as done at CEATEC and WPC, such as kicking a ball and dancing to music that is played. The customers that met at this "Robot Heaven" DIY robot shop subjected the JVC staff to pretty technical questions, such as about control and sensors.

There are currently no plans for commercialization of the J4. But, according to Naoki Satou, Head Engineer of Victor's Consumer Electronics Technology Unificiation Division's 2nd Development Center (which developed the J4), the goal of this demonstration was to hear the marketability of the robot. "Some people were surprised about what we though was really obvious, and we've also realized some things that we missed. We've heard various voices." The company also wants to proactively gather opinions from general users.

JVC began robot development around the year 2000. The development team consisted primarily of those with experience in developing VTR equipment, and the J4 is said to contain this miniaturization and mechanical know-how.

When compared to robots from other companies, the J4 is quite small, and can be allowed to move around o­n a tabletop. The development group wanted to give the robot an identity by making it small, while still making communication with humans as the overall goal. For example, you plop the robot down o­n a table or desk, and relax by screwing around with him. Like a mascot that sits o­n top of a desktop.

To make a robot like this become a reality, what sort of possibilities must be considered? With current robot technology, there are of course limitations to communication with humans. Because of this, the company will listen to various external opinions, and search for more directionality.

Another demonstration of the J4 will be given o­n February 11th (Saturday) at the TEPIA Plaza (Machine Industry Memorial Hall) in North Aoyama (Tokyo). The robot will be in the 18th TEPIA "Cutting Edge Technology ~ Opening Japan's Future" show, which is combined with the "Let's Chill in Aoyama! Robot & VR at TEPIA" event. Demonstrations wiill take place at the 45 minute mark every hour. The demo will take place o­n the 3rd floor exhibition hall.

Inspired by:
http://pc.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/2006/0116/victor.htm

JVC Homepage:
http://www.jvc-victor.co.jp/