Some 200 companies and more than 50 organisations from Japan and abroad are
taking part in the 2007 International Robot Exhibition in Tokyo, one of the
world’s largest robot shows.
At the last event two years ago, Japanese companies displayed their
state-of-the-art inventions ranging from a two-legged trumpet player to a robot
receptionist, which both starred at the World Exposition in central Aichi.
In contrast to the extravagant showcase in 2005, the four-day exhibition
which opened on Wednesday features a number of robots designed to be used in
everyday life.
“Two years after the Expo, which showed the future of life with robots, it’s
time to see how we can use robots,” said Shoichi Hamada, a senior official at
the Japan Robot Association, one of the organisers of this week’s event.
“Now practical application of robots is in sight,” Hamada said. “Many
companies here are in a position to let people see what the robots can actually
do at this stage of technology.”
While many of the security-guard robots displayed here are already in
commercial use in Japan, newly unveiled humanoids are also ready for sale.
“We can see the light in the practical use of robots,” said Tatsuo Matsuzaki,
an official at Kokoro Company Ltd., which is showing off a dental patient robot
that can mumble “ouch” when the drill hits a nerve.
The medical simulation robot, named ‘Simroid’, is designed to be used in
clinical training at dental schools. It can also listen to instructions and
react to pain by moving its eyes or hands.
Japan’s most famous robot is arguably Asimo, an astronaut-looking humanoid
developed by Honda Motor Co. which has been hired out as an office servant and
has even popped up to offer toasts at Japanese diplomatic functions.
“Helping people out is one of the main objectives of robots,” said Kenji
Kusunoki, an official at Kyokko Electric Co. Ltd.“Robot technology is very
useful in an ageing society,”