Murata Boy and Murata Girl are two self-balancing robots developed by Murata Manufacturing, a Japanese electronic components company. The company developed the robots to showcase a range of their products and generate publicity.[2][3] The robots are designed to be as energy-efficient as possible, both in their basic technological components and through features like automatic sleep mode.[1]
 Murata Boy at CEATEC 2005 | |
| Manufacturer | Murata Manufacturing |
|---|---|
| Country | Japan |
| Year of creation | 2005 (Murata Boy) 2008 (Murata Girl) |
| Price | $ 500,000 (each)[1] |
| Purpose | Technology demonstrator |
| Website | Official website |
Murata Boy
editMurata Boy is a bicycle-riding robot which, standing 50 cm tall and weighing 5 kg, can travel at a speed up to 2 km per hour. It can balance on the bike moving forwards, backwards, and when remaining still (without planting his feet on the ground). The robot is equipped with:[2][4]
- gyro sensors (for stability and redressing)
- a shock sensor (for impact detection)
- an angular velocity sensor
- a temperature monitor
- a CCD camera
- an ultrasonic sensor (for obstacle detection)
- an infrared sensor (for detecting human movement)
- an EMI filter (to reduce electronic interference)
- Wi-Fi and energy-efficient close-distance bluetooth modules (for interaction)
Murata Boy was listed on TIME magazine's list of Best Inventions of 2006.[5]
Murata Girl
editMurata Girl is a unicycle-riding robot released in 2008, standing 50 cm tall and weighing 6 kg that can travel at a speed of 5 cm per second and can ride along a balance beam.[1][2] She is equipped with the following:[2][6]
References
edit- ^ a b c "CES 2011: murata boy + murata girl robots". Designboom. January 11, 2011. Retrieved August 5, 2014.
- ^ a b c d "MuRata Boy and Girl robots unicycle their way into our hearts. Slowly". CNet. January 9, 2011. Retrieved August 5, 2014.
- ^ "Some Hard-Working Celebrities of the Robot World". Nippon.com. July 20, 2012. Retrieved August 5, 2014.
- ^ "Murata Boy description". Robotics Today. Retrieved August 5, 2014.
- ^ "Transportation - Robobike". Time. Time Inc. 13 November 2006. Retrieved August 5, 2014.
- ^ "Murata Girl description". Robotics Today. Retrieved August 5, 2014.
