Factory worker Satomi Iwata has new coworkers, a troupe of humanoid automata that are helping to address two of Japan's most pressing concerns — a shortage of labor and a need for growth.
The 19 robots, which cost her employer Glory Ltd. about ¥7.4 million each, have eye-like sensors and two arms that assemble made-to-order change dispensers alongside their human colleagues in a factory employing 370.
"They aren't human, but it's as if I'm working with colleagues who do their work very well," said Iwata, who has worked at the factory for four years.