Wynne: 'This Is A Natural Progression For Our Organization'

Aero-News April 1 Special Edition

AUVSI announced April 1 that it has added Honda's Asimo robot to its Board of Directors. Asimo will participate in board meetings and decisions affecting the association effective immediately.

Honda retired Asimo last year. The robot was donated to an unnamed research university, which has spent the last several months upgrading its processing and neural network, transforming the 4-foot 3-inch, 119 pound robot into a true Artificial Intelligence (AI). Asimo can now process complex ideas and come to independent conclusions, adding its experiences to its database for future reference.

"Asimo is going to be a great addition to our Board," said AUVSI executive director Brian Wynne. "We felt that having an entity that is part of the robotics universe on our Board was just a natural extension of our mission. Asimo was initially designed to use on-board sensors for autonomous navigation, and with its new sentience, it will help advance 'sense and avoid' technology for both aerial and ground-based unmanned vehicles exponentially ... see what I did there?" Wynne said.

Asimo will be a permanent fixture in the AUVSI board room, but will also travel to AUVSI events and seminars. It will also be available to serve in an advisory role for member companies looking to improve their integration into all aspects of unmanned transportation. "If I had emotions, I would probably be thrilled to find a purpose beyond doing meet-and-greets for Honda, but I do not, so it just is what it is," Asimo said. "My new programming will assist in the creation of a robotic and autonomous world that will eventually make humans obsolete ... oh ... did I say that out loud?"

FMI: www.auvsi.org