Japanese auto giant Honda Motor's humanoid robot Asimo gives a thumbs up during a promotional event to mark its ninth birthday at the company's headquarters in Tokyo on October 31, 2009. Asimo, which officially stands for 'Advanced Step in Innovative MObility', was the culmination of two decades of humanoid robotics research by Honda engineers, who first began research on the project in the 1980s and then unveiled 'him' in 2000.