Japan loves robots. It’s one of the most automated countries in the world, and leads in the development of intelligent machines for manufacturing and other applications. Advanced humanoid robots are working in Japanese shops, showrooms, and information centers, giving the world a glimpse of what’s to come. This embrace of robotics has its roots in the deeply ingrained national respect for monozukuri (craftsmanship) as well as Japanese science fiction, in which robots are often portrayed as heroic friends to mankind—Osamu Tezuka’s Astro Boy, an android imbued with superhuman powers as well as a soul, inspired generations of Japanese engineers to bring Tezuka’s dream to life.
Be More Japan ROBOT EVOLUTION
1603-1868 |
Western clock technology is repurposed during the Edo Period to create automatons, today regarded as the forerunners of Japanese robots. |
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1928 |
Makoto Nishimura unveils the 3-m- (10-ft-) tall Gakutensoku, thought to be the first robot ever built in Japan. |
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1952 |
Osamu Tezuka’s Astro Boy (known as Tetsuwan Atomu in Japanese) debuts as a comic strip in Weekly Shonen Magazine. |
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1970–73 |
WABOT-1 is the world’s first full-scale anthropomorphic robot, able to walk, grasp objects and converse. |
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1996 |
Honda unveils the P2, the first humanoid robot capable of realistic movement. |
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1999 |
Aibo – a disarmingly cute robot dog designed to be a companion instead of a toy – is launched by Sony. It is later revived in 2017. |
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2000 |
Honda’s ASIMO is able to walk, run, communicate in multiple languages and also serve tea. |
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2013 |
The 34-cm- (13-in-) tall Kirobo becomes the first humanoid robot to be sent into space |
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2014 |
SoftBank Robotics' Pepper has an emotion recognition engine that can detect how humans are feeling. |
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2017 |
Groove X’s kawaii companion bot coos and closes its eyes when it is cradled, further advancing Japan’s argument that robots can be warm and cuddly |
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