Everyone knows that Japan is the trend setter in terms of robotics: industrial, humanoids and space robots – almost half of all robots in the world work in Japanese factories. How is that possible? What does Japanese robotics have that others can’t achieve?

The cultural background

Japan was the first to have created Tamagotchi, a little mechanical gadget that in a very short time has become the dearest pet for children all over the world. Japanese people feel comfortable in a robot’s company and that is mostly because they have been portrayed as friendly, helpful devices, designed to make their lives easier. That’s contrasting with the Western vision, fed by the science fiction literature, characterized by the fear of a great robotic invasion over the human race. This difference comes not only from the limited access to Western literature for the Japanese, but also from their native religion, the Shinto, which is not that strict as far as the differences between animate and inanimate beings are concerned.

Japanese Robots

Facts and figures

The Japanese robotics revolution is a must for the country and its economical evolution. That is because the population is facing an aging process, with more than one fifth of the citizen gone over 65. In order to replace the work force, the robots seem to be the best solution and the Japanese government has done great financial efforts to support the robots industry. They funded the production of humanoid robots with over $40 million and the implementation of new, key technologies with $10 million.

Japan has also a great mind-set that encourages the development of data robotics. It is the only country of the world to use the electric toilet at a national level and that should prevent the others from not having surprises when Japanese factories announce that over 500,000 robots for them. That is nearly 50% of the global amount if robots and nearly 40 robots for each 1,000 Japanese employees.

In terms of investment and revenues that means a lot, considering that robots will never ask for greater salaries, for overtime bonuses or for retirement pensions. Not to mention the increase in productivity they bring. It’s very likely that in few years a Japanese robot will take the place of a retired person or of someone who doesn’t meet his deadlines and responsibilities.

Great expectations

The great expectations for the next 15 years come from the government which hopes to install another 1 million robots in the whole country before 2025. According to their plans, a single Japanese robot is able to replace 10 workers and, if that is true, that 1 million robots could replace 10 million human employees, that is to say 15% of the work force at the moment.

In terms of industrial robots, a lot of improvements have been made in their construction and they show their efficiency in countries all over the world. However, in terms of humanoids, the Japanese research institutes and companies have a lot of work to do. What they actually run for is a better understanding of the way people function and how can that be applied in data robotics. The emotional complexity of human beings is the hardest to imitate, as well as the spontaneity and the interactivity.

Anyway, Japan has all the reasons to feel proud if its robots industry; they’ve invented almost everything from pets and medical assistants to space robots.