Robotic version of "Flashdance" to bring back memories of Gene Kelly, latest android does more than just dance in the rain.

It may look like a robotic version of "Flashdance" or bring back memories of Gene Kelly, but Japan's latest android does more than just dance in the rain.

How about the old soft - or hard - shoe in wet sand, previously a treacherous terrain for less than adroit androids?

No problem for HRP-2 Promet, a 1.54-meter high-stepper designed by Kawada Industries and a former animation artist to boldly go where no 'bot has gone before.

Soundbite: Takakatsu Isozumi, General Manager, Kawada Industries

"The biggest advance is that the robot can handle an environment that is more like what humans face."

Japan is home to almost half of the world's 800,000 industrial robots, an eventual $10 billion market.

HRP-2 can still handle the more traditional nuts and bolts factory work, but its off-road exploits at speeds of up to 2 kph mean a new A-I opportunity for Japanese robots - what a feeling, indeed.

Dan Sloan reporting.


COMPANIES MENTIONED: Kawada Industries
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