Ceremony Held for Robot Asimo's Retirement

Tokyo, March 17 (Jiji Press)--A ceremony was held Thursday for Honda Motor Co.'s <7267> Asimo bipedal humanoid robot, which will retire from the spotlight this month.

The robot, developed in 2000, will end its performances at the National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation and at the Honda main office at the end of March, capping a two-decade run.

At the ceremony, Asimo walked, jumped on one leg and performed other stunts. It also sang with its voice and in sign language, drawing applause from the audience.

"I have many fond memories of interacting with many people," the robot said after receiving a letter of thanks and flowers from museum director Chieko Asakawa and other staff members. "Thank you for these 20 years."

Asimo has demonstrated its running, side-stepping and other abilities in over 15,000 performances since it was employed as a "science communicator" at the museum in 2002.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]