ASIMO was the humanoid robot Honda first unveiled publicly in 2000 as a successor to its P2 and P3 prototypes.
Honda’s humanoid-robot research began in the 1980s and produced the experimental E-series walking robots before the P-series prototypes. ASIMO, whose name is commonly expanded as “Advanced Step in Innovative Mobility,” was designed to walk on two legs and interact with people in human environments.
The 2000 model was about 120 centimeters tall and weighed roughly 52 kilograms. Later versions improved balance, stair climbing, running, and recognition of people and objects. ASIMO was a research and demonstration platform rather than a commercially sold household servant. It is sometimes confused with Sophia, a humanoid robot developed by Hanson Robotics, or Pepper, a SoftBank robot designed primarily for social interaction. ASIMO became one of the best-known public symbols of Honda’s work in robotics.