Honda’s Asimo meets Obama (video)

TOKYO, JAPAN - APRIL 24: (CHINA OUT, SOUTH KOREA OUT) U.S. President Barack Obama (2nd L) watches Honda Motor Co humanoid robot ASIMO (1st R) hops with the Miraikan (national museum for emerging science and innovation) chief executive dierector Mamoru Mohri (3rd R) on April 24, 2014 in Tokyo, Japan. The U.S. President is on an Asian tour where he is due to visit Japan, South Korea, Malaysia and Philippines. (Photo by The Asahi Shimbun via Getty Images)

TOKYO, JAPAN - APRIL 24: (CHINA OUT, SOUTH KOREA OUT) U.S. President Barack Obama (2nd L) watches Honda Motor Co humanoid robot ASIMO (1st R) hops with the Miraikan (national museum for emerging science and innovation) chief executive dierector Mamoru Mohri (3rd R) on April 24, 2014 in Tokyo, Japan. The U.S. President is on an Asian tour where he is due to visit Japan, South Korea, Malaysia and Philippines. (Photo by The Asahi Shimbun via Getty Images)

Published Apr 25, 2014

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Tokyo, Japan - Not many people walk up to the leader of the free world and tell him who they are and what their ambition in life is. But then Asimo is not your average person.

Honda's bipedal humanoid robot, greeted US President Barack Obama at the National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation (known as "Miraikan") in Tokyo, Japan on Thursday - in English - with the words: "Mr President, I am Asimo, a humanoid robot. It is a pleasure to meet you."

The 1.3-metre, 50kg android, which functions completely autonomously, then demonstrated some signature moves - including running, kicking a ball and jumping.

SPIN-OFFS

Although there have been a number of spin-off benefits as automotive development focuses on cars that can see, think and react for themselves, Honda says its robotics research is intended to create robots that help people while co-existing alongside them in the real world.

As Asimo itself put it: " I keep training every day so that someday in the future I can help people in their homes."

Since its introduction in 2000, Asimo has met a number of VIPs from other countries, but this was the first time it had played soccer with a serving US president.

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