KDDI R&D Laboratories and I Bee, K.K. have upgraded the facial recognition capabilities of its Bluetooth-enabled bipedal walking robot, named Pirkus-R Type-01. Equipped with a built-in CCD camera, the 29-cm (1-foot) tall personal robot can spot faces that it would like to inspect at closer range. Pirkus-R is able to self-correct its direction as it makes its approach, and once it captures a facial image, it can determine whether or not the person is registered in its file. Pirkus-R Type-01 is scheduled to appear at the Robo-One fights being held this weekend (March 17 to 19) at Panasonic Center Tokyo.

The robot's facial recognition technology is based on technology that KDDI developed for mobile phones. KDDI has improved upon previous facial recognition technology, which used to require you to position your face directly in front of the robot in order to be recognized. Other problems with the human-robot interaction have been addressed, including lighting-related problems that occurred when capturing images. Pirkus-R is now able to automatically detect which direction you are facing, and is no longer at the mercy of variations in lighting conditions. Furthermore, because it is equipped with Bluetooth technology, you can use your BREW-enabled au handset to check Pirkus-R's operating status and facial recognition results. Of course, you can control it from your phone, too.