Asimo came walking, talking and dancing daily at Sacramento State, Thursday through Sunday, in free public displays sponsored by Sac State’s College of Engineering and Computer Science.

Honda’s humanoid robot Asimo, which stands for Advanced Step in Innovative Mobility, was presented in several jam-packed 30-minute sessions.

“We feel quite fortunate to be selected,” said Mary Jane Lee, associate dean of Engineering and Computer Science. “It’s a big deal for our department.”

Honda’s tour, Asimo Technology Circuit, has visited some of the nation’s top engineering universities.

Sac State is one of only seven schools selected by Honda during its tour that started in September 2004.

Braja Das, dean of the College of Engineering and Computer Science, spoke about Honda’s selection of Sac State as a presentation site for its Asimo tour.

“(Honda) called us one day and they asked if we would consider hosting them,” Das said. “They said we have an excellent program, and we are a good engineering school.”

“This presentation makes you more propelled to want to work with projects like this,” said Brandon Jackson, a senior in computer engineering science at Sac State.

The tour hopes to get students interested in engineering and the various forms of science used to create robots like Asimo, and for students to one day have a career involving technology.

“About 1300 high school students may now consider CSUS the place to go,” Das said.”We hope to spark an interest in students so they leave thinking, ‘I would like to build one of those,'” said Stephen Keeney, Asimo project leader from American Honda.

The presentations included comprehensive displays of all Asimo is capable of doing.

– –“They packed a huge amount of information into a small amount of time,” said Graham Ryland, Associated Students Inc. director of Engineering and Computer Science.

Asimo can walk backward, forward, sideways and turn corners, and is the only humanoid robot able to function in such a way.

The robot is also the only one of its kind able to climb stairs, as well as to walk an incline and decline of up to 30 degrees.

“It’s amazing how agile it was,” said Ryland, who participated in a dance-off with the robot during a presentation.

Nine clubs from Sac State had displays showcasing student-made robots that attendees could peruse between each Asimo presentation.

Honda has been conducting research in the development of Asimo since 1986. Its goal is to have robots like Asimo able to help humans in various ways in the future.

The robot is designed mainly to help individuals with various disabilities that need assistance with daily tasks.

Asimo, which got its name from the Japanese word meaning foot movement, stands four feet tall and weighs 118 pounds. Presenters explained that Asimo was designed to be this height so individuals who are unable to walk can look at Asimo eye-to-eye.

Being able to see an individual eye-to-eye is important because Asimo comes equipped with facial recognition and the capability to carry out commands given by gestures.

“We’re very hopeful in 10 years a robot such as Asimo could be available to individuals in need of assisted living,” Keeney said. “A lot is going to depend on how technology in general advances, however.”

The current Asimo’s hardware is valued at about $1 million, much higher than the price Honda aims for in the future of about $50,000 to $60,000.

The presentation also featured short movies depicting Honda’s struggles throughout the years developing the humanoid robot, an introduction to robots in the past, as well as robot portrayals in movies.

Other capabilities shown were Asimo’s ability to balance on one foot, kick a soccer ball and predict movement control, which causes it to stop when an object crosses its path.

“It’s almost surreal; it’s amazing,” said Michaela Popovici, senior in computer engineering at Sac State, as well as a member of four of the nine clubs participating between shows.

The presentation entertained the crowd by having three participants answer multiple-choice questions with Asimo’s help, and ended in a dance competition involving Asimo and the volunteers.

Anthony Giovanini can be reached at [email protected]