E2-R2 is the ninja robot of Honda that will help to rescue the victims of disasters of all type

The name 'ASIMO' may ring. This is the Honda robot, considered one of the most sophisticated and skilled humanoid robots in the world. When the Fukushima nuclear disaster struck in 2011, questions were raised about why Honda had not sent its machine to help while other robots became heroes. The answer was obvious: she was not able to move through such an extreme scenario.

Thus. the Japanese company decided to begin the development of a new version capable of rescue work in case of disaster: the E2-2R. In the face of great secrecy, Honda has offered a breakthrough at the Robots and Intelligent Systems Conference (IROS) in Vancouver, Canada. The E2-DR has a lithium ion battery of 1000 Wh, which gives it a range of 90 minutes and can be drained through holes of 30 centimeters.

ASIMO's brother is slow but steady; although it is true that Honda is still developing it, says that it is strong, agile and can withstand adverse weather conditions. It has a height of 1.68 meters, weighing 85 kilograms and only 25 cm thick, can pass through 30 cm holes, a size that Honda chose because factories usually have fast access passages of approximately that width that can used to move through locked aisles.

He counts a total of 33 rotational joints in each part of his body: eight in each arm, six in each leg, two in the torso, one in each hand and one in the head.

It is a probing robot, so that Honda would prefer to leave the most precise manipulation in the hands of a more specialized. However, these joints provide the E2-DR with flexibility to move in tight spaces and debris: you can rotate your torso 180 degrees and climb steep stairs.

In terms of vision systems, the prototype has five eyes: two are Hokuyo laser telescopes, a monocular camera with a synchronized LED flash, a camera used by the drones to calculate distances, and a stereo combined with a light projector infrared

As it is designed to work in extreme environments, it has been created to be dust and splash proof, cleaned only as it is operating and withstand temperatures of -10 ° C to 40 ° C. So far, Honda has made the E2-DR reach 4 km / h using all four limbs; 2.3 km / h on foot, walk under a 26-mm rainfall for 20 minutes and go up and down a vertical staircase in the rain.

Of course, Honda is still working to get it to adapt to the debris that falls on it, but hopes that for IROS 2019 its rescue robot will be a candidate to take into account in the event of a natural disaster. The human.