Japan, renowned for crafting robots and other artificial intelligence (AI) tools, has established a long-standing reputation for producing dependable and esteemed electronic products spanning decades.
According to Manuela Veloso, the head of AI research at JPMorgan Chase, Japanese robotics still generates “extraordinary documents” and is exceedingly conspicuous in the research sector.
One of Japan’s greatest strengths in the realm of robotics is its profound admiration for machines, as the country has a rich history of believing that objects, locations, and creatures possess a spiritual essence.
“Since many Japanese people believe that everything has a soul, why not robots?” stated Minoru Asada.
As early adopters, Japan began developing industrial robots in 1960, with many large companies entering the industry in 1980, ultimately leading Japan to become known as a “robot superpower,” as Yasuyoshi Yokokohji, a mechanical engineer at Kobe University, stated.
Subsequently, Japan turned its attention to humanoid robots, which became popularized with the unveiling of Honda’s Asimo in 2000. “While no one else was manufacturing robots at the time, Japan was producing them,” Veloso remarked.
However, in 2010, Japan began to fall behind Boston Dynamics, a robotics company based in Massachusetts that developed humanoid robots, as well as Universal Robots, a company situated in Odense, Denmark.
Moreover, these robots had user-friendly programming interfaces and more adaptable applications. “By comparison, the programming interfaces developed by Japanese robotics companies were only for experts,” according to Akihiko Yamaguchi, the director and founder of FingerVision, a robotics startup located in Tokyo, China.
Nevertheless, the emergence of technology and the introduction of AI in 2012 altered the entire world. AI technologies such as deep learning and neural networks are currently utilized around the world, with AI research requiring “massive computers and vast quantities of data,” as Ishiguro noted.
Japan’s Pursuit of Innovation A surge of inventions brought about by Japanese researchers has been integrated into robotics, where Advanced AI technologies have been implemented. Asada argues that AI and robotics cannot be viewed as distinct entities. With sweeping changes taking place, we must accept them. However, the Japanese robotics field faces the obstacle of language, as many experts are not well-versed in English.
According to Woodrow Hartzog, a specialist in technology law at Boston University in Massachusetts, this is problematic because much of the excellent research in Japan is written in Japanese. Furthermore, robotics labs in Japan are focused on creating robots for the sake of it, rather than considering their practical applications, as Yokokohji has pointed out.
While this is a commendable starting point, the country still lacks a cohesive, long-term strategy for promoting robotics research, which necessitates continuous support for Japanese Robotics experts to develop their strengths on an international scale, as Asada suggests. Additionally, Japan is still a leader in developing intricate mechanical components, whereas digital work is the focus of many researchers around the world.
Japan has the potential to lead in bridging the gap between hardware and software, paving the way for sophisticated, human-like robots and other interactive gadgets. However, the key to this is how users can leverage their cultural backgrounds to create new possibilities for robots, as Ishiguro has pointed out. He also believes that such a challenge is advantageous for the Japanese people.
