Robots Entering Daily Life in Japan

USA Today is running a story about the emergence of robots in common aspects of life in Japan. Many simple yet social jobs are being filled by robots of increasing sophistication. The article suggests that Japanese culture is more open to such interaction than the majority of other cultures. Quoting: "For Japan, the robotics revolution is an imperative. With more than a fifth of the population 65 or older, the country is banking on robots to replenish the workforce and care for the elderly. The government estimates the industry could surge from about $5.2 billion in 2006 to $26 billion in 2010 and nearly $70 billion by 2025. Besides financial and technological power, the robot wave is favored by the Japanese mind-set as well. Robots have long been portrayed as friendly helpers in Japanese popular culture, a far cry from the often rebellious and violent machines that often inhabit Western science fiction."

Comments

Robots are here

[BWJones]

Last time I was in Japan, (scroll down for the robot) progress in the Toyota Partner Robot development was truly impressive. They have amazingly smooth, articulated motions, can walk with close to natural gaits and can climb stairs. Robots, whether fully autonomous or semi-autonomous are here to stay in rolls from support like the ones being developed in Japan or for defense/warfare applications like I saw on my recent visit to Creech AFB. I gotta say though, that this robot has got to be one of my favorites and this robot has got to be one of the creepiest.

Tentacles

[Gothmolly]

But do they have the necessary tentacles for normal, healthy Japanese sex?

I hate this characterization of the West

[MyNameIsFred]

...a far cry from the often rebellious and violent machines that often inhabit Western science fiction...

This type of statement is frequently used to explain this is why Western society doesn't embrace robots. In my view, this has very little to do with it. Western societies don't embrace robots because most forms of automated interaction have been vastly annoying. Who doesn't love calling a company and getting "Press 3 for customer service" and going thru ten menus before getting a human who can actually help. Who doesn't love help systems on computers that try to figure out what you're doing and help you. "It looks like you're trying to write a letter, may I help?" No! Just stop annoying me. How about voice recognition systems that are iffy at best. No I did not say "Got my first real sex dream, I was 5 at the time." I said, "Got my first real six string, bought it at the five-and-dime." The list goes no. Once more user friendly systems are developed I have no doubt that robots and similar systems will be widely accepted.

Re:I hate this characterization of the West

[garett_spencley]

I think there is also a fear that robots (like other forms of automation in the past) will slowly "steal" people's jobs.

Re:I hate this characterization of the West

[vertinox]

This type of statement is frequently used to explain this is why Western society doesn't embrace robots.

It also might explain why western robots in development usually have guns on them. I mean iRobot is the most popular robotics company in the USA but most of their money comes from military contracts and not consumer sales.

Re:I hate this characterization of the West

[jcnnghm]

But if you look at actual robots, like the Roomba, you can see they're pretty readily embraced. I have both a Roomba and a Scooba, and I couldn't be happier with them. I was extremely skeptical when I got the Roomba, but I thought for $149 I could at least try it. Sit it down, press the button, go to work, come home to a clean floor, it doesn't get any easier. I know of at least 4 people that have bought these robots after I did, once they saw mine in action.

I think that people, as you were saying, are more concerned that the robots won't work well, than that they are dangerous. Once they know somebody with one or see one in action, it becomes a no brainer.

Re:I hate this characterization of the West

[bluehairedpete]

Also, in America we already have a large supply of cheap, exploitable labor via illegal Mexican immigrants. Japan's much stiffer immigration laws don't allow for this. As long as robots cost more than 5 bucks an hour, they will never make a dent in America.

Re:I hate this characterization of the West

[Not_Wiggins]

More likely it is because the West (VERY specifically America) is a litigious society; before any company would introduce autonomous machinery (beyond the most basic that we have today) into the everyday life of Americans, they need to be darn sure that it won't kill/mame/hurt/offend anyone lest they be sued out of existence.

FP had an excellent link to a snowplowing robot. How long do you think that would be in operation before some kid threw himself under it and the place using the robot to clean the parking lot and the manufacturer of the robot got sued?

Children of Men

[Thagg]

I thought the most thought provoking movie of last year was Children of Men, about the collapse of society when there are no more children. It was one of those movies where a simple premise is carried to the logical extreme, and it's more than a little depressing.

But, coincidentally, the next day I saw a demonstration of ASIMO, Honda's self-contained little robot -- and it resonated so well with the movie that it's hard to believe in coincidence anymore.

The Japanese are already living in that Children of Men world, their birthrate is shockingly low, and they have almost no immigration, so the population is shrinking quickly, especially of young people.

So, what do the Japanese do? Rather than despair (as they did in England, in the movie) they just build a generation of robots...

Simplistic, I know.

Re:Children of Men

[ucblockhead]

There's a huge difference between few children and no children. The England of the book was despairing because the people new that with no children at all, there was no future and that those alive were just marking time until the eventual death of civilization. Very different for Japan, where there's every reason to expect that Japan will be a major world player for the next 100 years, 200 years, who knows how long? With 135 million people crammed in a country the size of the Japanese mainland, a drop in the population over time may actually improve matters for the people living there and the country as a whole.

Anyway, the point is that "Children of Men" wasn't about low birth rate. It is about being forced to confront your civilization having no future, and your life having no meaning.

Robots are everywhere, but

[El Lobo]

Yes, people seem to be afraid of **androids***(robots with a human shape), but seem to naturally accept other kind of robots. Hmm... let me see: trafic lights, alarm clocks, car soldering machines, etc are more or less complicated robots.

Interesting, but in Korea, years ago, there was an experiment when trafic lights (or semaphores, whatever) were substituted by an android (a robot police man, showing some Stop and Go signals). The results were very negative. The respect that traficants normally have for ordinary trafic lights was sometimes nearly gone when the android was used... Fear? Disrespect? Whatever...

It's much more about cheap labor.

[HornWumpus]

If Japan had a Mexico on its southern borders they wouldn't be working on robots so much ether.

Give NAFTA another ten years and we will need robots for lots of stoop work as well. It's already starting with crop work (Grape harvesting is switching over to robots as we speak).

Four words

[call-me-kenneth]

Crush the fleshy ones!

politeness, restraint, and deference to authority

[m0llusk]

In America or Europe if a worker no longer serves the bottom line they are likely to be quickly discarded. Though they might seek other positions in the company, even training is likely to be their responsibility to have in order in advance. From hiring to firing the relationship will lack compassion and no one bows. Similar rules extend to family where a historically extreme level of independence is becoming the norm. People must find a way for themselves to get by.

In Japan employees or relations might find their roles changing to respond to circumstance, but leaving the group is typically a last resort. There from meeting to parting everyone bows to each other. People must find a place for themselves in a group.

In typical American or European conditions robots embody the cold displacement that all must fear. Robots become implacable competitors in almost any setting. Japanese social networks welcome the robots in part because they do not suffer the same endemic fear of rejection and displacement. Robots are suited to tasks that are difficult or not valued enough for people, so they are easily seen as cooperative.

Re:Shows the deep-seated hatred of foreigners....

[psychodelicacy]

I see all the anti-Japanese comments on this post, and it makes me wonder whether the Japanese are wrong to be wary of foreigners...

I find it sad that you take not speaking English as some kind of black mark. You'll find that most Americans and British people speak nothing other than their own language. Why should the Japanese, if they would rather not? Other countries are not there simply to service the needs of English-speaking tourists, and if you'd ever seen what a group of Englishmen in a sex shop looks like, you might sympathise with the Japanese for wanting to keep them out!

Re:You need to take a short, unpleasant trip ...

[glwtta]

Japanese robotics roboticist

Impressive, that's actually one of the most popular kinds of roboticists.