Dentsu co-launches first talking robot to space

Kirobo, the first talking humanoid robot, arrived at the International Space Station (ISS) on 9 August, 2013 after its departure on 4 August. In addition to being Commander Koichi Wakata’s companion, Kirobo will also provide insights in the study of future human-robot relations.

A second robot named Mirata is based on Earth as a back-up. Both robots are equipped with voice and face recognition technology, and are fitted with cameras, a language processor and software that recognizes emotions. Kirobo’s name was derived from the Japanese words for ‘hope’ and ‘robot’, coinciding with the project vision that robots will be the hope of the future, helping to solve societal problems. Kirobo and Mirata were jointly developed by Dentsu Inc., Toyota Motor Corporation, Robo Garage and the University of Tokyo.