China Develops First "Personal Robot"

BEIJING (Reuters) - China has manufactured its first "personal robot" that can provide services at home and, among other skills, log on to the Internet and tell its owners the news and weather, Xinhua news agency said on Friday.

Liangliang, standing at about 80 cm (nearly three feet), is able to walk and navigate obstacles at ease, as well as perform tasks as instructed by humans.

Its developer, the Shenyang-based Xinsong Automation Co., affiliated with the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said the robot cold "provide services of education, entertainment and security" and act as a personal assistant, Xinhua said.

It did not go into details.

"In the presentation debut, a staffer sent a mobile phone short message to the robot inquiring about the situations at home and, in two minutes, Liangliang replied with a message: temperature 22 degrees Celsius and everything normal at home," Xinhua said.

Liangliang, in Chinese, is a duplication of the character for "shining" and "bright".

(Source)

Tags: China | News | Technology