Video: Advanced Japanese Home Robots

Serkan Toto

Dr. Serkan Toto is an independent consultant and advisor focusing on Japan’s web, mobile and social gaming industries. Based in Tokyo, he works together with financial institutions and startups worldwide. Serkan has been the Japan contributor for TechCrunch.com since 2008. He is sept-lingual, holds an MBA and is a PhD in economics. → Learn More

Wednesday, September 1st, 2010

We have reported about a number of household robots from Japan in the past. Those machines covered areas like preparing sushi or pancakes, cleaning the house or the toilet. But Japan’s home robot makers haven’t been sleeping since, as you can see in the video embedded below.

The news clip, shot by TV channel Nippon News Network, is in Japanese, but it shows some pretty impressive robots that are supposed to make our everyday lives easier.

Here’s a list (in order of appearance):

1. Toshiba’s ApriPoco, a 8.4-inch tall robot that owners can use to control electrical appliances equipped with infrared through verbal commands. As ApriPoco is able to “learn” how to follow instructions, users can train him to perform better over time.

2. A robotic table that’s equipped with motors and can be easily moved via a remote control. The table is designed for people who are unable to move furniture. In the clip below, you can also see a motorized chair and door.

3. The IRT lab at the University of Tokyo is famous for making robots that help the elderly with their everyday life. The video shows a kitchen robot that cleans dishes and glasses without breaking them, another model that cleans rooms and does the laundry, and a personal mobility robot that users drive by moving their upper body in the direction they want to go to.

Here’s the video:

Via Plastic Pals

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