If for some reason you were not satisfied with the previous version of the "Banryu," this version offers a stunning new design, LED lights o­n the head to indicate facial expressions, and improved voice recognition/synthesis capabilities allowing it to have greater publicity potential.

Sanyo Electronics Corporation has developed a new version of the 4 legged "Banryu" utility robot, the "HRS-Q11," and will begin rentals o­n April 9th. The cost for a o­ne day rental is 239,400 yen, and the daily cost for a 30 day rental is 18,330 yen.

The Banryu is a 4 legged robot jointly developed by Sanyo Electronics an tmsuk. Previous models included a human sensor, odor sensor, and the capability to inform owners by cellular phone of strange situations that arose, and was even sold to individuals.

On the new model however, there improvements aplenty, such as a completely redesigned body independently developed by Sanyo Electronics. It also has the capability to display facial expressions using LEDs o­n the head and back, as well as increased voice recognition/synthesis capabilities. With these voice improvements, the robot can receive, greet, quiz, and tell fortunes, which would be useful for gathering a crowd/publicity. It is anticipated that this sort of function would also be useful at event grounds, for attracting customers.

The leg mechanism has also been improved, using a walking pattern that resulted from analysis of walking patterns with Waseda University's Takanishi Laboratory. The OS is changed from Windows to an independently developed real-time OS, allowing the control period to go up to 2.5 times the previous amount.

The main body size is 680 x 800 x 940mm (W x D x H), and it weighs 36kg. o­n a flat surface, it can walk over steps as high as 100mm. It features an internal human sensor, obstacle sensor, sound sensor, and temperature sensor. The battery lasts approximately 2 hours. Remote control of the unit is possible using a FOMA phone or PDA with wireless LAN.

Banryu will be o­n display at the "30th Jumbo Suprise Trade Fair" going o­n in Tokyo and Osaka, and will become a new character o­n the TV Tokyo show "Oha Suta."



Inspired by:
http://pc.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/2004/0405/sanyo.htm

News Release:
http://www.sanyo.co.jp/koho/hypertext4/0404news-j/0405-1.html