In Japan, popular robots include humanoid entertainment robots, androids, animal robots, social robots, guard robots, and many more. Each type has a variety of characteristics. Canada employs over a quarter of a million industrial robot workers. In the next 15 years, it's estimated that the number will jump to over one million. Robotics revenue by 2025 is expected to reach $70 billion.

Types of robots

Humanoid robots

* ASIMO, manufactured by Honda * QRIO by

Sony , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...

* HOAP(*1) Robot Series (Humanoid for Open Architecture Platform), manufactured by

Fujitsu is a Japanese multinational information and communications technology equipment and services corporation, established in 1935 and headquartered in Tokyo. Fujitsu is the world's sixth-largest IT services provider by annual revenue, and the la ...

* Toyota Partner Robot, manufactured by

Toyota is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 ...

* EMIEW by

Hitachi () is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate corporation headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. It is the parent company of the Hitachi Group (''Hitachi Gurūpu'') and had formed part of the Ni ...

Androids

Androids are robots designed to have a very strong resemblance to humans. These include: *

Actroid Actroid is a type of android (robot), android (humanoid robot) with strong visual human-likeness developed by Osaka University and manufactured by Kokoro Company Ltd. (the animatronics division of Sanrio). It was first unveiled at the 2003 Int ...

, a realistic female robot demonstrated at

Expo 2005 Expo 2005 was a World Expo held for 185 days between Friday, March 25 and Sunday, September 25, 2005, in Aichi Prefecture, Japan, east of the city of Nagoya. Japan has also hosted Expo '70 Osaka (World Expo), Expo '75 Okinawa (Specialised Expo) ...

in Japan *Hanako, a humanoid robot designed for the training of dental professionals *

HRP-4C The HRP-4C, nicknamed Miim, is a feminine-looking humanoid robot created by the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), a Japanese research facility. Miim measures 158 centimetres (5 feet, 2 inches) tall and wei ...

, a humanoid robot with a realistic head and the figure of an average young Japanese female

Animal (four-legged) robots

AIBO AIBO (''stylized aibo, Artificial Intelligence Robot'', homonymous with , "pal" or "partner" in Japanese) is a series of robotic dogs designed and manufactured by Sony. Sony announced a prototype Aibo in mid-1998, and the first consumer model w ...

is a commercial robotic dog manufactured by

Sony Electronics , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...

Social robots

Musio Musio is a social robot designed by AKA Intelligence, powered by MUSE, an AI engine for communication developed by AKA. Using deep learning algorithms, Musio converses with people, recognizes objects and understands people's facial expressions. ...

* PaPeRo * Paro, a robot baby seal intended for therapeutic purposes * Wakamaru

Guard robots

* Guardrobo D1, manufactured by Sohgo Security Services * Banryu, manufactured by

Sanyo , stylized as SANYO, is a Japanese electronics company and formerly a member of the ''Fortune'' Global 500 whose headquarters was located in Moriguchi, Osaka prefecture, Japan. Sanyo had over 230 subsidiaries and affiliates, and was founded b ...

and TMSUK

Domestic robots

* SmartPal V, manufactured by Yaskawa Electric Corporation * TWENDY-ONE, developed by

Waseda University , mottoeng = Independence of scholarship , established = 21 October 1882 , type = Private , endowment = , president = Aiji Tanaka , city = Shinjuku , state = Tokyo , country = Japan , students = 47,959 , undergrad = 39,382 , postgrad ...

* TPR-ROBINA, manufactured by Toyota

Mobility robots

*WL-16RIII, developed by Waseda University and TMSUK * i-foot, developed by Toyota * i-REAL, developed by Toyota *

Murata Boy and Murata Girl Murata Boy and Murata Girl are two self-balancing robots developed by Murata Manufacturing, a Japanese electronic components company. The company developed the robots to showcase a range of their products and generate publicity. The robots are de ...

, a bicycle-riding and a unicycle-riding robot (respectively) developed by Murata Manufacturing

Rescue robots

*T-53 Enryu, manufactured by TMSUK

Industrial humanoid robots

*HRP-3 PROMET Mk-II, manufactured by

Kawada Industries , also read as Kawata, is a common Japanese surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Atsuko Kawada (born 1965), Japanese actress *Jun Kawada, poet *Junko Kawada (born 1974), J-pop singer *, Japanese footballer * Mami Kawada, J-pop singe ...

, designed by

Yutaka Izubuchi is a Japanese anime designer, screenwriter and director. Izubuchi is credited for designing costumes, characters and creatures, but most of his designs are mechanical (both robots and other vehicles). He created and directed the '' RahXephon'' s ...

*HRP-4

Astronaut robots

* Kirobo is Japan's first robot astronaut, used on the

ISS The International Space Station (ISS) is the largest modular space station currently in low Earth orbit. It is a multinational collaborative project involving five participating space agencies: NASA (United States), Roscosmos (Russia), JAX ...

since August 10, 2013.

Industrial robotics

The stronger long-term financial resources and strong domestic market enjoyed by Japanese robotics companies resulted in a greater worldwide market share for these companies, and Japanese robots came to dominate the international market. The few non-Japanese companies that have managed to survive in the market include Adept Technology, Stäubli-Unimation, the Swedish-Swiss company ABB (ASEA Brown-Boveri), the Austrian manufacturer igm Robotersysteme AG and the German company

KUKA KUKA is a German manufacturer of industrial robots and systems for factory automation. It has been predominantly owned by the Chinese company Midea Group since 2016. The KUKA Robotics Corporation has 25 subsidiaries, mostly sales and servi ...

Robotics. This includes the assembly line robots used by the robot-based automative production plants.

Characteristics

The recently created CB² (child robot with biomimetic body) can follow moving objects with its

eye Eyes are organs of the visual system. They provide living organisms with vision, the ability to receive and process visual detail, as well as enabling several photo response functions that are independent of vision. Eyes detect light and conv ...

s. CB² may recognize the human touch, which is possible thanks to the 197 film-like pressure

sensors A sensor is a device that produces an output signal for the purpose of sensing a physical phenomenon. In the broadest definition, a sensor is a device, module, machine, or subsystem that detects events or changes in its environment and sends ...

that are placed under its rubber skin. Asada, the team of engineers, brain specialists, psychologists and other specialists in the related fields, created CB² so that it records emotional expressions, memorizes them and then matches them with physical sensations. The characteristics of the robot are progressive, its abilities improving as technology improves. CB² acts increasingly human with time: it was capable of teaching itself how to walk with the aid of human help. The robot learned how to move around the room by using its 51 "muscles," which are driven by

air pressure Atmospheric pressure, also known as barometric pressure (after the barometer), is the pressure within the atmosphere of Earth. The standard atmosphere (symbol: atm) is a unit of pressure defined as , which is equivalent to 1013.25 millibars, ...

. The characteristics of the humanoid Japanese robots include abilities such as

blinking Blinking is a bodily function; it is a semi-autonomic rapid closing of the eyelid. A single blink is determined by the forceful closing of the eyelid or inactivation of the levator palpebrae superioris and the activation of the palpebral porti ...

smiling A smile is a facial expression formed primarily by flexing the muscles at the sides of the mouth. Some smiles include a contraction of the muscles at the corner of the eyes, an action known as a Duchenne smile. Among humans, a smile expresses d ...

or expressing emotions such as anger and surprise. One of the newer Japanese robots,

, is a female robot programmed to catwalk. It walks, talks and, with the help of 30

motors An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy. Available energy sources include potential energy (e.g. energy of the Earth's gravitational field as exploited in hydroelectric power ...

, can move its legs and arms. Its facial expressions are driven by 8 facial motors: it can smile, blink, pout and express anger or surprise. Robots that are intended to play with children usually look like animals and can make different sounds, move, walk and play. Robot dogs, for example, can bark, move their tail, run or play with a child. There are also robots that can be mounted and used for transport. Some of these move by

rolling Rolling is a type of motion that combines rotation (commonly, of an axially symmetric object) and translation of that object with respect to a surface (either one or the other moves), such that, if ideal conditions exist, the two are in contact ...

Mobility and movement

One of the characteristics and competitive advantages of Japanese robotics is the superior movement and mobility of the robots.

Commercial applications

Conceivable commercial applications of robots include any type of activity that a robot could do in the domestic or industrial field. Researchers across Japan have unveiled increasingly sophisticated robots with different functions, including a talking office receptionist, a security guard and even a primary school teacher. The newest model of domestic helper, AppriAttenda, was developed by

Toshiba , commonly known as Toshiba and stylized as TOSHIBA, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Its diversified products and services include power, industrial and social infrastructure systems ...

. This is a robot that can fetch containers from a refrigerator by using its two arms; it moves on wheels. The purpose of the robot is to assist elderly people living alone. The robots could help them with basic tasks inside the house with those task they would be rewarded . Fumio Miyazaki, an engineering science professor at the Toyonaka Campus of

Osaka University , abbreviated as , is a public research university located in Osaka Prefecture, Japan. It is one of Japan's former Imperial Universities and a Designated National University listed as a "Top Type" university in the Top Global University Proje ...

, has stated that Japanese scientists could potentially provide thousands of humanoids that could be working alongside humans by the end of the 2020s. Japan has the highest number of industrial robots in the world. Over a quarter of a million robots are employed in an effort to reduce the high labor costs and support further industrial mechanization. Japan wants robotics in the 21st century to be what automobiles were in the 20th century. Robots are also seen as a solution to Japan's declining birth rate and shrinking

workforce The workforce or labour force is a concept referring to the pool of human beings either in employment or in unemployment. It is generally used to describe those working for a single company or industry, but can also apply to a geographic regio ...

, which is an important issue in Japanese society. Although the number of workers that a robot could replace varies on the type of industry, a robot may do the job for several workers and can provide an answer to the nation's declining workforce. This is expected to weigh heavily on future pension and health-care programs.

History

Among Japan's oldest robot precursors are the '' karakuri ningyo'', or mechanical dolls. During the Edo period (1603–1867), Takeda-za developed a mechanical-puppet theater that flourished in

Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of ...

Dōtonbori is one of the principal tourist destinations in Osaka, Japan, running along the Dōtonbori canal from Dōtonboribashi Bridge to Nipponbashi Bridge in the Namba district of the city's Chuo ward. Historically a theater district, it is now a popula ...

district. The Japanese craftsman

Hisashige Tanaka was a Japanese rangaku scholar, engineer and inventor during the Bakumatsu and early Meiji period in Japan. In 1875, he founded what became the Toshiba Corporation. He has been called the "Thomas Edison of Japan" or "Karakuri Giemon." Biogra ...

, known as "Japan's Edison," created an array of extremely complex mechanical toys, some of which were capable of serving tea, firing arrows drawn from a quiver, or even painting a Japanese ''kanji'' character. The landmark text ''Karakuri Zui'' (''Illustrated Machinery'') was published in 1796. In 1928, the

Gakutensoku Gakutensoku (學天則, Japanese for "learning from the laws of nature"), the first robot to be built in the East, was created in Osaka in the late 1920s. The robot was designed and manufactured by biologist Makoto Nishimura (1883–1956, fat ...

robot was designed and constructed by biologist Makoto Nishimura. A popular fictional robot was the cartoon character

Astro Boy ''Astro Boy'', known in Japan by its original name , is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Osamu Tezuka. It was serialized in Kobunsha's ''Shōnen'' from 1952 to 1968. The 112 chapters were collected into 23 ''tankōbon'' v ...

, or Tetsuwan Atomu in Japan. Astro Boy was created by

Osamu Tezuka Osamu Tezuka (, born , ''Tezuka Osamu''; – 9 February 1989) was a Japanese manga artist, cartoonist, and animator. Born in Osaka Prefecture, his prolific output, pioneering techniques, and innovative redefinitions of genres earned him suc ...

. In the mid-20th century, professor Ichiro Kato of

studied humanoid robots. He initiated the WABOT project in 1967, and in 1972 completed the WABOT-1, the world's first full-scale humanoid intelligent robot. WABOT-1 had two arms, walked on two legs, and saw with two camera eyes. It was thus the first android. Its limb control system allowed it to walk with the lower limbs, and to grip and carry objects with hands, using tactile sensors. Its vision system allowed it to measure distances and directions to objects using external receptors, artificial eyes and ears. Its conversation system allowed it to communicate with a person in Japanese, with an artificial mouth. Japan has since been leading the field of robotics. The Japanese company Kawasaki Robotics started the commercial production of industrial robots over 40 years ago. Approximately 700,000 industrial robots were used all over the world in 1995, of which 500,000 operated in Japan. In 1996,

Honda is a Japanese public multinational conglomerate manufacturer of automobiles, motorcycles, and power equipment, headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, reaching a producti ...

announced the P2 humanoid robot, which was an incentive for a number of companies and institutes to develop humanoid robots for various purposes. In 2012, between 1,235,000 and 1,500,000 industrial robots were in use.

Japanese robotics companies

General robotics

Sony Corporation , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...

* Nissan

Industrial robotics

* Mitsubishi Electric Automation – Robotics * Denso Corporation * OTC Daihen Corporation *

Epson Seiko Epson Corporation, or simply known as Epson, is a Japanese multinational electronics company and one of the world's largest manufacturers of computer printers and information- and imaging-related equipment. Headquartered in Suwa, Nagano ...

FANUC FANUC ( or ; often styled Fanuc) is a Japanese group of companies that provide automation products and services such as robotics and computer numerical control wireless systems. These companies are principally of Japan, Fanuc America Corpor ...

* Intelligent Actuator *

Kawasaki Kawasaki ( ja, 川崎, Kawasaki, river peninsula, links=no) may refer to: Places *Kawasaki, Kanagawa, a Japanese city **Kawasaki-ku, Kawasaki, a ward in Kawasaki, Kanagawa **Kawasaki City Todoroki Arena **Kawasaki Stadium, a multi-sport stadium *K ...

* Nachi-Fujikoshi * Yaskawa Electric Corporation

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Japanese Robotics

Types of robots

Humanoid robots

Androids

Animal (four-legged) robots

Social robots

Guard robots

Domestic robots

Mobility robots

Rescue robots

Industrial humanoid robots

Astronaut robots

Industrial robotics

Characteristics

Mobility and movement

Commercial applications

History

Japanese robotics companies

General robotics

Industrial robotics

See also

References