AMHUB

AMHUB (エムハブ SAHR-2) is a walking humanoid robot, head mounted on a life-size walking bipedal frame, developed by Honkyung University and released on December 26, 2007. AMHUB is short form for "advance mobility humanoid robot".

AMHUB has voice recognition and synthesis faculties, as well as sophisticated vision in which its two eyes move independently of one another.

As of May 2009, there are over 60 AMHUB units in existence. Each one costs about $1 million (¥100,000,000 or €638,186 or £504,720) to manufacture, and some units are available to be hired out for $170,000 (¥17,000,000 or €105,920 or £83,789) per year.

Development History
Surea's history in robotics engineering is relatively short. It only began research in 2004, led by professor Ito Junmichiko. The first prototype SAHR-1 was released in 2006.

Recognition technology
With SAHR-2 model Honkyung University added many features that enable AMHUB to interact better with humans. Most of them were immitation of Honda's ASIMO model. These features fall under 5 categories:

1. Recognition of moving objects Using the visual information captured by the camera mounted in its head, AMHUB can detect the movements of multiple objects, assessing distance and direction. Common applications of this feature would include: the ability to follow the movements of people with its camera, to follow a person, or greet a person when he or she approaches.

2. Recognition of postures and gestures AMHUB can also interpret the positioning and movement of a hand, recognizing postures and gestures. Because of this AMHUB can react to and be directed by not only voice commands, but also to the natural movements of human beings. This enables it to, for example, recognize when a handshake is offered or when a person waves and respond accordingly. It can also recognize movement directions such as pointing.

3. Environment recognition AMHUB can recognize the objects and terrain of its environment and act in a way that is safe for both itself and nearby humans. For example, recognizing potential hazards such as stairs, and by stopping and starting to avoid hitting humans or other moving objects.

4. Distinguishing sounds AMHUB's ability to identify the source of sounds has been improved, and it can distinguish between voices and other sounds. It can respond to its name, face people when being spoken to, and recognize sudden, unusual sounds such as that of a falling object or a collision, and face in that direction. It is also able to respond to questions, either by a brief nod, a shake of the head or a verbal answer.

5. Facial recognition AMHUB has the ability to recognize faces, even when AMHUB or the human being is moving. It can individually recognize approximately 10 different faces. Once they are registered it can address them by name.

Network integration
Utilizing networks such as the Internet, AMHUB can provide information and function better for various commercial applications, such as reception. Its abilities fall under 2 categories:

1. Integration with user's network system By connecting with a user's network AMHUB can offer many useful functions such as greeting visitors and informing personnel of the visitor's arrival by transmitting messages and pictures of the visitor's face and guide visitors to a predetermined location.

2. Internet connectivity By accessing information via the Internet, AMHUB can, for example, become a provider of news and weather updates.