12/1/2005

Robots on Yahoo! : A humanoid robot ‘HRP-2 Promet’ of Kawada Industries performs a martial art during a demonstration at the 2005 International Robot Exhibition in Tokyo November 30, 2005.

Actually, I cannot tell from the photo whether this is the martial art bojutsu (the Art of the Staff) or the rarer Bonote (the ‘Art of the Stick’) and I doubt that the reporter would understand or make the differentiation a fighting technique and a ritual. Bojutsu (棒術) is where Japanese kendo came from, but bonote (棒の手) is a stylized form, like a ritualistic dance. Bonote is part entertainment and part religious ceremony to frighten away evil spirits.

Anyway, visit Kawada Industries’s official website to read the specs and overview of humanoid robot ‘HRP-2 Promet’. Then go an see several videos ‘HRP-2 Promet’ opening a can of woopass.