welcome to another episode of our japan series as you know the aging population of japan is becoming
a growing challenge in addition the birth rate is on the decline which means the number of potential
workers is decreasing in japan to combat this problem japan is heavily invested in robotics
in this video we will quickly explore the evolution of robots in order to understand
why japan is a superpower of robotics and why japanese robots are conquering the world
who doesn't know the coolest killer androids that were featured in the dragon ball series android
17 and android 18. hardly surprising considering she is my twin sister an android is a robot that
resembles a human from science fiction movies to present reality this is the japanese story of
androids in 1967 the wabat project was started at waseta university japan in 1972 the first android
the wabot one made its appearance to the world this robot could move see and talk however it
only had the mental capabilities of a one and a half year old child bite my shiny metal ass
bring it on baby in 1984 wabot 2 made its entry with a number of improvements surprisingly it
was capable of playing musical instruments like the piano it was able to do so thanks
to its 10 awesome fingers and its ability to read musical notes put in front of it
then in 1986 the japanese automotive company honda motors kick-started its
own research and development program in robotics fortunately as a result of their
efforts the world saw a cute astronaut robot in october 2000. and everyone knew his name
asimo asimo was capable of interacting with humans successfully if in a limited
capacity in 2015 asimo was considered the most advanced humanoid robot in the world
in 2014 a japanese company softbank robotics also unveiled a semi-humanoid robot named pepper
which are currently used as a receptionist at several offices personal assistance in
thousands of japanese homes and full-time employees in banks medical facilities
and clothing retail pepper does more than expected it even worked as a waiter in
restaurants and cafes and performed as cheerleaders during the olympics
one final story is of toyota that was already producing industrial robots since the 1980s
in 2005 they released partner robots which were capable of playing music in a group
after that in 2017 toyota unveiled 1.5 meter tall robot thr-3 that were physically strong
third-generation humanoid robots thr-3 was designed to be used in medical facilities
construction sites disaster-affected areas and even in space
to be honest i don't know which actors are my favorite if i had to choose some of them would
probably be leonardo dicaprio tom hanks robert downey jr or perhaps tom cruise
but sooner or later robots could be taking their jobs too these robots are known as actroid and
they look exactly like us or perhaps even more beautiful these actroids are developed and being
perfected by osaka university and kokoro company limited the first actroid appeared in the 2003
international robot exhibition in tokyo japan the robot looked like a young woman of japanese
descent and could mimic life-like human behavior such as blinking speaking and breathing
these actroid models are pretty interactive with humans and can recognize different faces voices
and even many types of touches while talking these asteroids continuously move their head
blink their eyes and even give off the appearance of breathing interestingly the skin of these
asteroids look very real because it's made of silicone rubber which is highly elastic material
the compressed air inside the robot causes movements in the servo motor
of the hands and legs acroid is still evolving but to be honest it is happening at a much
faster rate than darwin's theory of evolution for most living creatures
for example geminoid hi1 was released on july 2006
two months later on october 2006 akroid der 2 model was released
two years later on october 2008 actroid der 3 evolve model was released
one year later on november 2009 actroid sarah was released
two years later on october 2011 actroid f also known as geminoid f was released
while i hope they never develop an actroid capable of taking the place of youtubers such as myself
i suppose i'll just have to wait and see if i eventually lose my job to these robots too
children like to play with dolls but in japan the majority of the japanese
population believes that dolls are actually living beings with souls
japanese people are obsessed with dolls and robots and we can see it as far back as the ido period
from the 15th to 17th century approximately 500 years ago there were the katakuri robot
dolls which were found in the houses of feudal lords as the luxury toys for pure entertainment
these ancient robots were a part of japanese tradition and they didn't need electricity to
work instead they use gravity mechanical gears springs and strings in a clever way
to allow them to make movements these mechanical robot dolls were built entirely from wood
they could also act as puppets and be controlled by a set of cams and lovers
this is the most famous robot servants are the katakuri dolls that carry a cup of tea
bow in front of you to give respect and when you remove the cup automatically stops the complex
methods of creating these sophisticated dolls is mentioned in an ancient book
that is known as kiko zoo and was written by katakori hanzo
some believe that as robots are becoming stronger they are becoming more terrifying
with each passing day these people believe that robots could be a big threat for humanity
but others see incredible potential and even believe we could one day become cyborgs with
hal robotic exoskeletons in order to fight out of control robot monsters
in reality we may not be as far away from this cyborg future as we think this hybrid
assistive limb was developed by sukuba university and the robox company cyberdyne
dr yoshiyuki san gai started this work in the 1990s in the first three years he located the
position of the neurons that are responsible for leg movements the next four years after that
were spent in the development of the first prototype of an hal suit which was bulky
however after continuous improvements the cyberdyne team was able to reach its
most refined model the hal5 that weighs just 10 kilograms 22 pounds including all its components
originally dr san guy developed this suit for people with physical disabilities
by october 2012 hal suits were in use in 130 medical facilities and nursing homes across japan
aside from its medical use it can also be used on construction sites for disaster response work and
of course we may even use this suit in the future wars against terminator-like robots
but all jokes aside how do the suits work the answer is simple when the wearer shows
intention to move his or her muscles the receptors attached to the skin surface
detect the electrical signals that are being released from the brain to neurons in the leg
this world's first cyborg suit is available for rent for a monthly fee of 2 000 us dollars
many japanese cars are small but the hopes of the japanese are incredibly big perhaps one day they
will even be ready to fight a next generation war against aliens and terminator-like robots
to meet this huge warrior robot you have to visit gundam factory yokohama which is located
right on the water of yokohama's yamashita pier this is the 18 meter tall rx-78f00 gundam model
which is the world's first ever full-scale movable gundam it was created for the special
occasion of gundam's 40th anniversary currently it holds two guinness world records for being
the largest mobile humanoid robot and largest mobile gundam this 60 foot tall and 25 ton
heavy robot is the new guardian of yokohama city the hands of gundam are 6.5 feet long from the
fingertips to the wrist which houses 18 flexible knuckles for smooth hand and limbs movement
the body of this robo guardian has 24 moving joints in the body
to perform movements like head rotation picking up and putting down the legs and moving forward
if you want to marvel at his beauty then buy a ticket go to the sixth floor and enjoy the show
after that you can also refresh yourself with a coffee from the local gundam cafe
you'll be shocked to know that 300 million people worldwide are suffering from depression and around
792 million people are suffering from anxiety those are terrifying numbers unfortunately the
rate of suicide cases in japan is also high to combat these terrifying problems that can occur
in part due to loneliness a good friend might be needed at home introducing a loving friendly
companion lovot when you feel empty it will come to you and ask you for a sweet hug and you better
hug it okay its cuteness is a scientific marvel that is concentrated in its big eyes when you
cradle it in your arm you will feel like you are carrying a cute toddler who has fallen asleep
these cuties will eat electricity from a charging station when they feel hungry and stored inside
lithium-ion stomach they are powered by 10 core cpu which comes with a kanasawa top
a microphone and a camera there are a total of 50 sensors on his body including microcontrollers
pressure sensors obstacle sensors and even heat and humidity sensors talk about a marvel of
engineering and all of it designed to help those who need a little love and support in their lives
even though the human brain is incredibly advanced the average human baby takes 9 to 18 months on
average to learn how to walk in addition other motor tasks like balancing on and riding a bike
can be time consuming at first but when we visit a japanese company called morata manufacturing
we can see the robots that are making progress in balancing beyond our imagination in 1999
morata boy was born at marata manufacturing not only could he ride a bicycle both forwards and
backwards but he could also maintain his balance while fully stopped thanks to his ultrasonic
sensor he can identify obstacles and easily cross a terrifying narrow balance beam without falling
in 2008 over a decade later marotta girl was born at morata too she was born to
follow morata boy wherever he goes while maintaining a certain distance
most interestingly morata girl was even more advanced with her
awesome sense of balance which was demonstrated by her ability to maintain
her balance while riding a mono wheel on a two centimeter narrow curve-shaped pathway
after 2013 murata boy and marotta girl got married
and so in 2014 a lot of children were born at murata manufacturing these children are full of
energy and curiosity they are natural cheerleaders these cheerleaders are 36 centimeters tall
weigh 1.5 kilograms and are capable of dancing as a group they use gyro sensors which maintain
their center of gravity directly above the ground and ball thanks to ultrasonic sensors and infrared
rays they can move swiftly in any direction and they don't crash into each other these types of
flawless synchronized movements are something many of you likely never expected to see so soon
do
you