TOKYO: Japanese electronics and entertainment conglomerate Sony Group said on Tuesday it has the technology to rapidly build humanoid robots after identifying how they can be used effectively.
“In terms of technology, many companies in the world have enough technology to build quickly once it’s clear which uses are promising,” Hiroki Katano, Sony’s chief technology officer, told JEE News.”
“The key is application development,” said Kitano.
Sony launched Aibo, a robot dog, more than two decades ago. It sold about 150,000 units of Aibo from 1999 to 2006 and launched an advanced version in 2018, selling about 20,000 units in the first six months.
Honda Motor and Hyundai Motor have been developing humanoid robots for decades, and in September, Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk showed off a prototype of his humanoid robot Optimus.
Musk’s company plans to deploy thousands of robots in its factories, eventually expanding to millions worldwide.
Sony, with its expertise in audiovisual technology and rich entertainment content including music and video games, is well-positioned to play a leading role in the metaverse, or immersive virtual world, Kitano said.
Metaverse is a vague term that encapsulates the idea that users will spend more time in an online simulated environment. While the concept is evolving, it has become a buzzword in briefings and a driver of industry allocations.
“As far as the metaverse is concerned, it’s not like people show up just because you’ve created a location…the content is what makes or breaks the metaverse.”
