WAKO, Japan – Honda’s human-shaped robot can now run faster, balance itself on uneven surfaces, hop on one foot and pour a drink. Some of its technology may even be used to help with cleanup operations at the stricken Fukushima nuclear plant.

Honda’s demonstration of the revamped “Asimo” on Tuesday at its suburban Tokyo research facility was not only to prove that the bubble-headed, childlike machine was more limber, but also a bit smarter.

Additional Photos

Honda has given Asimo the robot improved hands, allowing individual movement of each finger. Photos by The Associated Press

Asimo has the ability to gracefully pour juice into a paper cup.

It was an answer to some critics who said Asimo, first shown in 2000, had been of little practical use so far, serving mostly as a glorified toy and cute showcase for the Honda Motor Co. brand.

Honda President Takanobu Ito told reporters Tuesday that some of Asimo’s technology was used to develop a robotic arm in just six months with the intention of helping with the nuclear crisis in northeastern Japan.

The mechanical arm can open and close valves at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, which went into meltdown after the March tsunami, according to Honda. The automaker is working with the utility behind the problem plant, Tokyo Electric Power Co., to try to meet demands to bring the plant under control.

Ito acknowledged that the first idea was to send in Asimo to help out, but that was not possible because the robot cannot maneuver in rubble, and its delicate computer parts would malfunction in radiation.

But in Tuesday’s demonstration, Asimo was able to walk without falling over 0.8-inch-high padded bumps on the floor. It can also jog faster than it did in 2005, at 5.6 mph instead of the earlier 3.7 mph, pushing better with its toes so its run was smoother and not as jerky.

Asimo also was able to distinguish the voices of three people speaking at once, using face recognition and analyzing sound to figure out that one woman wanted hot coffee, another orange juice and still another milk tea.

The new Asimo got improved hands as well, allowing individual movement of each finger so it could do sign language.

“My name is Asimo,” it said, making the signs of its words with stubby fingers.

It also opened a vacuum bottle and gracefully poured juice into a paper cup.

Ito said Asimo had developed autonomous artificial intelligence so that it could potentially maneuver itself through crowds of people, without remote control or stopping each time to check its programming.

But he acknowledged that making robotics into a practical business will take more time, meaning Asimo wasn’t about to show up in any home soon.

“Maybe at the start this was a dream of engineers to make a machine that was close to a human being, like Astro Boy,” he said. “We think Asimo is good.”

Other manufacturers are also developing robots, eager to cash in on the expected needs of Japan’s rapidly aging population.

Toyota Motor Corp., Japan’s top automaker and maker of the Prius hybrid and Lexus luxury models, is among those that have jumped on the robotics bandwagon.

In the past, it has shown robots that can play the violin and talk like receptionists. Last week, it showed a computerized device that latches on to the body to help old or sick people walk and keep balance.

Honda, which makes the Odyssey minivan and Accord sedan, has developed similar brace-like gadgets to help people get about.

Neither the Toyota nor the Honda product is on sale yet.

Still, experts say such research is important to keep up.

“Maybe it can’t be put to use right away, but it is definitely a technology that we should keep working on to advance,” Hiroshi Kobayashi, a mechanical engineering professor at Tokyo University of Science, said of the new Asimo.

“It is common for what we achieve in research to turn out later to lead to many products,” said Kobayashi, who has developed experimental robots.

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