Latest incarnation of the Banryu guard-robot

Sanyo has announced the latest incarnation of the Banryu guard robot it has been developing with robot venture Tmsuk. The latest version is an independent Sanyo project, with modifications including switching from Windows to a proprietary realtime OS and revamping the beast's legs, in cooperation with Waseda University, to get it walking less like an old man. The new version also adopts a more diplodocus-like form and takes a step away from the original crime prevention concept, offering crowd-pleasing features like better speech recognition and the ability to give quizzes and forecast horoscopes. Nope, today is not April 1.

Weighing 36 kg and measuring 68 x 80 x 94 cm, the latest Banryu can handle steps up to 10 cm in height, and features a variety of sound, object and temperature sensors. It can also be controlled, like everything else recently, via an NTT DoCoMo FOMA phone or using a wireless LAN-equipped PDA.

The latest Banryu will apparently be available to rent in Japan from April 9. One day's rental is Y239,400, while the daily charge for a month's rental is Y18,330.

[Via PC Watch (Japanese)]