This robot is the CBi, a humanoid robot with a height of 155 cm and weight of 85 kg. Kawato and his colleagues have conducted many studies on reproducing brain activity in computers. The result of their accumulated research was the successful development of a computer system that, when a constant movement is repeated, automatically programs that movement so that it can be reproduced. When a human takes the CBi’s arm or leg and teaches it how to move, this system on the CBi enables it to automatically learn that movement. It is thus imitating human activity.

Controlling a robot today generally requires expert knowledge, making it virtually impossible for ordinary people to operate robots. With advances in the system developed by Kawato, however, general users will be able to control robots, and this could serve to accelerate the spread of their use.

The CBi has already learned such high-level movements as using a bat to hit a ball thrown by a human, and rolling a ball on its palm. Viewers were amazed with a public demonstration in January 2009 of the CBi hitting a thrown ball.

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