Sanyo Venture Create Caretaker Robot
Copyright 2004 Asia Pulse Pte Limited
Robot developer tmsuk Co. and tmsuk Sanyo Co., a joint venture between tmsuk and Sanyo Electric Co. (TSE:6764), on Wednesday announced that they have developed an interior caretaker robot modeled after a jellyfish .
The new robot has a round, semitransparent body that houses LEDs that emit light in various colors and can be used as room lights. It moves about on wheels and can be operated remotely using NTT DoCoMo Inc.’s (TSE:9437) FOMA mobile phones. When connected to a television, a CCD (charge-coupled device) camera in it enables conversations to be carried out while viewing the other party.
When the robot’s caretaker function is activated, sensors enable it to detect anything out of the ordinary and report it to the owner’s mobile phone.
The companies aim to release the robot as early as summer 2005, with the price expected to be around 300,000 yen (US$2,877).
They are targeting 300 million yen in annual domestic sales within three years.
Copyright 2004 Asia Pulse Pte Limited
Copyright © 2002 LexisNexis, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc.
