LinuxDevices.com has learned that Wakamaru, an experimental Linux-powered humanoid robot made by Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, will make a guest appearance at the Embedded Systems Conference (ESC) being held April 22-26 in San Francisco.

The 100 cm tall robot is described as being able to assist the sick or elderly in their homes, and is said to be capable of conducting simple conversation using a 10,000 word vocabulary, and finding (and following) faces and movements using face recognition technology. Its mode of transport is based on wheels, unlike the leg-like motion implemented by several other experimental Linux-based Japanese robots (see “related stories”, below).

Wakamaru is also equipped with Internet connectivity, according to various reports, allowing it to transmit images to mobile phones and computers and even send an email if it determines that something has gone wrong (or feels like talking to someone outside the home).

You can meet Wakamaru in person at ESC in MontaVista Software's booth (#2210), alongside a bunch of other new and emerging Linux-based communication and consumer electronic devices.

Sources for this story included the following (check them out for more details and photos) . . .

• MHI unveils house-sitting robot
• The robot gets connected

 
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