Travels

The weekend of October 10-12, 2003 was a very special one for Toronto, as the world’s most advanced humanoid robot came to town.  ASIMO visited the Ontario Science Centre as part of the ASIMO North American Educational Tour, providing the first chance for the general public to see this amazing robot in Canada.  

On October 10, ASIMO educated and entertained 970 students from the Toronto area at the Ontario Science Centre.  School groups arriving at the Centre were filled with curiosity about the robot that moves like a human being.   As students lined up outside of the demonstration room their eager voices echoed through the corridor.  Once inside, the demonstration began, and the students watched in awe as ASIMO used its 26 degrees of freedom to walk forward and backward, turn corners and dance the disco.  

By the weekend, news that ASIMO was at the Ontario Science Centre had spread.  On the mornings of October 11-12, crowds arrived hours before the museum opened and camped in lawn chairs to guarantee themselves tickets to an ASIMO demonstration.  On both days, all available tickets were claimed within minutes!   Those people who did get tickets started standing in line one hour before each show and filled the 100-foot hall.  But, the line quickly disappeared when the doors opened and people hurried towards the front of the room, hoping to get front row seats. When the stage lights came on a wave of silence swept the room.  Then, the audience burst into applause as ASIMO walked on stage to greet them.   ASIMO waved and said, “Hello everybody!” and the audience warmly responded, “Hello ASIMO!”  ASIMO became quite a celebrity on its visit to Toronto, entertaining more than 4,600 people.  

Don’t miss your chance to see ASIMO and its high-tech stage show.  Please check the tour schedule to see when ASIMO might be visiting a city near you!

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