Toward 'Blade Runner': Future robots will look and think like us, Japanese android maker predicts
Set in 2019, cult '80s movie "Blade Runner" envisaged a neon-stained landscape of bionic replicants genetically engineered to look just like humans. So far that has failed to materialize, but at a secretive research institute in western Japan, wild-haired roboticist Hiroshi Ishiguro is fine-tuning technology ...
Robot wolves and bionic suits might just save Japan
The nation's demographic decline has created an opening for the technology sector.
How AI and robots can lead us to utopia
AI could conceivably eliminate the need for human labor in production and allow people to immerse themselves in intellectual activities.
U.K. report calls for learning from Japan on robots and automation
A U.K. parliamentary committee has released a report that highlights industrial automation in Japan, calling on the government to promote automation in British industries. Japan "has a long history of automation and is home to major robotics manufacturers," the House of Commons Business, Energy and ...
Annual investments in robots rose to world record $16.5 billion in 2018
Robot shipments are expected to jump 39 percent from 2018 to 2022 from a record annual sales level of $16.5 billion last year, according to the World Robotics report. More than a third of global installations are in China and the top five countries — ...
Fukushima Prefecture sets sights on flying cars to boost recovery and local industry
The Fukushima Prefectural Government is leading a collaborative effort involving companies from different industries and a robotics testing field to invent a flying car. In early August, the research center at the test field began accepting applications for four additional companies. The prefecture is focusing ...
It's mission over for a robot called Fedor that Russia blasted to the International Space Station, the developers said Wednesday, admitting he could not replace astronauts on spacewalks. "He won't fly there any more. There's nothing more for him to do there, he's completed his ...
ZMP's food delivery robot ready to pick up the slack in graying Japan
Mix the rise of e-commerce in Japan with a chronic labor shortage and a graying society and what do you get? An autonomous home delivery robot with a cartoon character voice and big inquisitive eyes. "I'm delivering delicious food," announced CarriRo Deli, a robot the size ...
Russian humanoid robot Fedor boards space station after delay
It was second time lucky on Tuesday as an unmanned spacecraft carrying Russia's first humanoid robot docked at the International Space Station following a failed attempt over the weekend. "Sorry for the delay. Got stuck in traffic. Am ready to carry on with work," the ...
Will we love or loathe the robots that come for our jobs?
A study suggests workers would rather be replaced by a robot than by a human
Devolution? Keio University team designs wearable robotic tail to help elderly keep their balance
Millions of years after the ancestors of humans evolved to lose their tails, researchers at Keio University have built a robotic one they say could help unsteady elderly people keep their balance. Dubbed Arque, the gray 1-meter device mimics tails that cheetahs and other animals ...
Toyota has plenty for robots to do during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics
When athletes and organizers descend on Tokyo for the 2020 Olympic Games they'll be ferried around in autonomous cars, while torch relay runners will be accompanied by vehicles equipped with artificial intelligence. Robots will ferry javelins and hammers. All told, Toyota Motor Corp. will provide ...
