Even though it was initially announced in the fall of 2004 at the CEATEC trade show in Tokyo, details about JVC’s J4 Bluetooth-controlled robot have been few and far between. Engadget is reporting today that JVC had the J4 out on display again in Japan recently, and quite frankly the details are still sketchy. The original news article is in Japanese, but Engadget has been able to translate some of the new details. They’ve determined that the J4 has two CMOS cameras in its head capable of recording video. It has a lithium ion battery that gives it 90 minutes of power, and it can be controlled via voice or cell phone. Apparently it also is capable of the staples like singing and dancing. All in all except for the Bluetooth it seems comparable to the other humanoid robots out there. JVC’s got no plans for a commercial release although apparently this demonstration was to test the waters. I think I need to see some solid specs in English before I can form an opinion.
Jan 17 2006