TOKYO (AP) -- Honda Motor Co. may have come up with the most attentive and perhaps honest car dealer ever in its child-size walking robot Asimo. The 1.2-meter (4-foot) tall machine, which first went on sale two years ago, already knew how to walk, climb stairs and recognize voices. The upgraded version also understands human gestures and movement. The robot from Japan's No. 2 automaker, shown to reporters Wednesday, turns its bubble-shaped head to follow the moves of nearby people, giving it a communicative, ready-to-help appearance. An upgraded model of Honda Motor Co.'s walking robot Asimo raises its hand to greet an unidentified Honda employee during a press unveiling at the Japanese automaker's headquarters in Tokyo Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2002. The 1.2 meter (four-foot) tall machine,that already knew how to walk, climb stairs and recognize voices, now also understands human gestures and movement by using the visual information taken by a camera in its head to recognize 10 different preprogrammed faces. http://www.space.com/businesstechnology/technology/asimo_honda_021211.html The only problem is that you'll probably find it in a steamy clinch with the vacuum cleaner and the microwave - just like the ad on TV....
