Survival Arts

Banryu: I want a Guard Dragon too

A posting on Samizdata today mentions the next wave of personal robot, post-AIBO, the Banryu or "Guard Dragon", a fire-sniffing quadraped. An excerpt from the English version of the Sanyo press release:

The robot also holds onboard a completely new "odor-sensor" developed jointly by tmsuk, Kanazawa Institute of Technology (Professor Nanto), and New Cosmos Electric Co., LTD. The developers believe that this is one of the first devices that can sense a particular odor with practical accuracy. With the sensor the robot will be able to detect "burnt scent" which is known to occur in the atmosphere preceding a fire.

and:

The robot is aimed to be used for several purposes including home-security defined loosely. The developers are in talks with the market leader, Sohgo Security Services Co., LTD., regarding provision of related services, technology and know-how.

Robotory has some additional background material, such as pics of the Type 1 which preceded the Banryu.