Uh-oh! Better watch out Ibot. “Robotic legs” may be marching this way from Japan. Atsuo Takanishi, a researcher in Tokyo has created a two-legged robot that “can fully operate in a human environment – specifically, one with features such as stairs that they can climb as homo sapiens do.” See a photo here. The geeky-named WL-16RIII is operated using a pair of joysticks (maybe not the best for a lot of crips). But Takanishi says he hopes to develop models that more severely disabled folks can use. Look for one in a showroom near you in, maybe, five years. Well, I guess the Ibot has a bit of breathing room. Thanks to Rory at RH Online for the lead and to Slashdot for the links.
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