From anime to reality: Mobile 25-ton Gundam robot to be built in Yokohama
What was once thought limited to the realm of animation is set to become reality in Yokohama this fall when an 18-meter mobile Gundam robot steps into action. Fans of the iconic anime series will be able to get an up-close look at the 25-ton ...
Avatar robot allows Hiroshima students to attend classes from hospital beds
The education board in Hiroshima Prefecture has pioneered the use of a pint-sized "surrogate robot" to realize what was previously considered impossible: allowing hospitalized students to take classes remotely without being monitored by teachers. The success of the board's tech-savvy initiative, considered an educational first ...
Robot-maker ZMP targets tractors, taxis and carts for elderly
Robot-maker ZMP Inc. is aiming to launch the first commercial level 3 automated bus operation in Japan at an airport in 2020. The Tokyo-based startup, which bills itself as the "robot of everything," has built a variety of contraptions ranging from delivery robots to autonomous ...
Recession, robots and rockets: Another Roaring '20s for world markets?
Helicopter cash, climate crises, smart cities and the space economy — investors have all those possibilities ahead as they enter the third decade of the 21st century. They go into the new decade with a spring in their step after watching world stocks add over ...
Robots cleaning up at stations and airports in labor-hungry Japan
More and more unmanned cleaning robots are being used in Japan, mainly at public transportation facilities, amid severe labor shortages. Faced with difficulties securing enough workers, Central Japan Railway Co. started using four robots this year to clean Nagoya Station and other locations, hoping that ...
As Japan's labor crunch bites, companies look to robots to plug the gaps
In the not-so-distant future, more robots may be interacting with customers at shopping complexes, serving food at restaurants or cleaning floors at offices in Japan amid a serious labor crunch. A hint of what is to come is visible at the International Robot Exhibition 2019, ...
Techie gifts for creative kids
It's the festive season and whether you take Christmas day off or not in Japan, kids will still be excited about Santa. This month introduces a few next-generation techy toys that are great for children but will probably be fun for the parents, too.
Achieving human liberation through AI
AI is none other than a mechanized slave in that it liberates humans from labor for production.
Japanese carrier ANA opens world's first shop equipped with avatar robots
Japanese airline ANA Holdings Inc. opened Thursday what it says is the world's first store where customers can shop remotely through an avatar. The robots, standing 1.5 meters tall, will be employed at the avatar-in store through Dec. 24 in a shopping mall in Tokyo's ...
JR East's new Takanawa Gateway Station to feature robot guide and unstaffed convenience store
East Japan Railway Co. said Tuesday a robotic guide utilizing artificial intelligence and an unstaffed convenience store will feature at a new station slated to open in Tokyo in April 2020. JR East hopes to make Takanawa Gateway Station on the Yamanote Line a model ...
Historical evidence shows that labor-replacing technological innovation does not lead to long-term changes in employment and unemployment rates in industrial countries.
Labor shortages in Japan's construction sector provide unexpected economic boost
As Japan's construction firms are squeezed by the tightest labor market since the 1970s and a rapidly aging population, they are pouring investment into technology — and providing unexpected support to an economy reeling from the bitter U.S.-China trade war. The industry sees artificial intelligence ...
