Hitachi unveiled the "Emiew," its first humanoid robot, on Tuesday, saying it was the world's quickest-moving robot yet. The Emiew is designed to help people in their movements and will basically serve as a help for people who have difficulties walking.

We aimed to create a robot that could live and coexist with people," Toshihiko Horiuchi, project leader at Hitachi's Mechanical Engineering Research Laboratory Robotics Technology Project, told a news conference.

Hitachi built the two Emiews -- Pal and Chum -- for the World Expo, which will take place beginning later this month in Aichi prefecture, about 205 miles west of Tokyo.

Emiew, which stands for "excellent mobility and interactive existence as workmate,"can run as fast as 3.7 mph, compared with Honda Motor Co.'s celebrated Asimo, whose top speed is a pokey 1.86 mph.

Hitachi said the Emiews, which currently have a vocabulary of about 100 words, still need to be trained before they are fit for practical office and factory use in five to six years.

Height 130cm
Weight About 70kg
Quickness Maximum acceleration 4m/s2
High speed 6 km/h in maximum running speed

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