Nagakude Town, Aichi Prefecture, Japan - Thursday 17th and Friday 18th March 2005 1. Various of reception robot giving guidance in English 2. Various of T-Rex robot roaring and walking 3. Various of Parasaurolophus (herbivorous dinosaur) robot walking and bleating 4. SOUNDBITE: (Japanese) Hirohisa Hirukawa, leader of humanoid robotics group, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology 5. Tilt up of the female guide robot 6. Close up of the face of the guide robot 7. Various of reception robot, Wakamaru, helping a man giving guidance 8. Wide shot of Tetsuya Yamamoto, Director General, machinery system technology development department, new energy and industrial technology development organization 9. SOUNDBITE: (Japanese) Tetsuya Yamamoto, Director General, machinery system technology development department, new energy and industrial technology development organization 10. Various of Toyota Motor Company marching band of robots SUGGESTED LEAD-IN: Environmentally friendly vehicles, conservation projects and plenty of humanoid robots will be on show in Japan this week at the World Exposition in Aichi (opens March 25). Perhaps the most startling exhibits at the Expo are the robots which range from a multi lingual receptionist to a full musical band. There are robot dinosaurs, too. VOICE-OVER: SOUNDUP: (English) "Okay. Thank you very much. May I make a recommendation? Do you wish to hear it?" The organisers of Japan's Aichi World Expo have brought along the very latest in robot technology to impress the hundreds of thousands of visitors they're expecting. This is the receptionist who'll greet them when they arrive. But not all the robots are as welcoming. This is Tyrannosaurus Rex, complete with blood-curdling roar and thunderous footsteps. The dinosaur had one of the strongest bites of any animal ever known - about eight times more powerful than that of a modern lion. Fossil remains have allowed scientists to work out how the dinosaur moved and looked. The only thing they're not sure about is the colour. This is Parasaurolophus, unlike T-Rex, he's a herbivore. As we know, dinosaurs have nothing in common with human beings. But these robot varieties do share characteristics with their human-like fellow machines. SOUNDBITE: (Japanese) "The basis of the dinosaur robot is the humanoid robot, HRP2, which we have been developing. We just put a dinosaur skin on it and magically it becomes a T-Rex or a Parasaurolophus." SUPER CAPTION: of Hirohisa Hirukawa, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology Here's someone who has nothing in common with dinosaurs. It's one of the Expo guides. And, yes, hard as it is to believe, she's a robot. This is another reception robot called Wakamaru. The job of this child-size robot is to provide directions and advice to visitors. Of course, Wakamaru is multi-lingual. It may all look like great fun, but to the Expo's organisers, it has a very serious side. SOUNDBITE: (Japanese) "The robots we have been developing are mostly industrial robots, but we would like to demonstrate robots at this Expo which will work at home, in the office and hospital. We call it them robots for the next generation. These robots will be working under totally different conditions having more interaction with humans, so we need to work on those characteristics." SUPER CAPTION: Tetsuya Yamamoto, Director General, New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization The Japan World Expo promises to be one of the great shows of the 21st Century. And no show is complete without a band - all robots, of course. It's the Toyota Motor Company robot marching band. SOUNDUP: Music You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/d857b54082076dc016ab0b909e621359 Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork

• published: 21 Jul 2015
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