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"Compared to most other cultures, Japan is still extremely codified: You know stuff because you're Japanese," he says. "Knowing the codes, when you can be direct, when to be indirect, is very fraught. With a robot, you don't have that problem. Robots at their root are code,...
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| Published in | The Irish times |
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| Main Author | |
| Format | Newspaper Article |
| Language | English |
| Published |
Dublin
The Irish Times Ltd
26.08.2011
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| Online Access | Get full text |
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| Summary: | "Compared to most other cultures, Japan is still extremely codified: You know stuff because you're Japanese," he says. "Knowing the codes, when you can be direct, when to be indirect, is very fraught. With a robot, you don't have that problem. Robots at their root are code, so you can create a robot to suit you." Perhaps so, but culture aside, there is another reason Japan has embraced the machine: it is good business. Robotics plays to the country's strengths in mechanical engineering and computer science, its love of craftsmanship and a well-honed ability to make incremental improvements to advanced technology. The country's "peace constitutional", meanwhile, means that the industry's energies are geared toward civilian and commercial use, unlike in the US where the military rules. Robots generate 700 billion yen ([euro]6.3 billion) in revenue every year, according to the Japan Robot Association, and already do much of the heavy lifting in factories around the country. With 360,000 of the world's million industrial robots, Japan dominates the global market. So far, humanoid robots such as Sony's Qrio and Honda's Asimo, wheeled out as the public face of Japan's high-tech economy, have remained expensive toys. This could change, however, with the development of so-called people pleasers: "service partner" and "welfare" robots. |
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