The Nation Where Robots and Humans Get Along | Momentum

Japan's Leading Role in Robotics and its Impact on the Labor Market

• Japan is the world's number one industrial robot manufacturer, and its unique relationship with robotics is shaped by both culture and crisis, including a rapidly aging population and a labor crunch (11s).
• The country began developing industrial robots in the 1960s and became a leader in robotics production in the 1980s, with strong government support and a tradition of animism contributing to its dominance in the field (1m20s).
• Japan's aging population and labor shortage have led to a predicted shortfall of over 11 million workers by 2040, prompting companies to invest in robots to fill these roles (2m17s).
• Robots are being used in various industries, including retail, manufacturing, and hospitality, with companies like Telexistence developing robots to automate repetitive and boring jobs (2m54s).
• Telexistence's retail robot is designed to help companies run their businesses in a more sustainable way, rather than simply reducing costs, and the company's goal is to create a surplus for humans after automating jobs with robots (3m35s).
• The company's CEO, Jin, believes that robots and humans can coexist well, and his goal is to create a society where individuals can own robots and use them to generate a basic income, allowing them to spend more time with their families or pursue their interests (4m20s).
• Telexistence is part of a wave of tech start-ups in Japan, driven in part by the country's history of robotic innovation and a younger generation's desire for more flexible and innovative work arrangements (4m53s).
• Japan's resurgence of innovation is being driven by a combination of factors, including its history of robotic innovation and a shift away from traditional lifelong employment at big firms (5m13s).
• Japanese startups have a chance to expand globally due to the universal nature of their products, such as robotics, which can be easily adapted to different countries without significant cultural or language barriers (5m17s).

Telexistence: Revolutionizing Retail with Robots

• Telexistence, a Japanese startup, partnered with FamilyMart, a major convenience store chain, and deployed 300 robots in their stores, with plans to deploy 3,000 more across Japan and expand to the United States (5m55s).
• The US market is crucial for Telexistence, representing the biggest market in the world, and deploying robots there would allow the company to reduce costs and expand globally (6m14s).
• The current robots deployed by Telexistence are single-task robots, but the company hopes that advancements in generative AI will enable the development of multitasking robots that can perform various tasks without requiring extensive training (6m42s).
• Japanese firms have historically excelled in creating robots, and companies like Telexistence are now developing their own software to complement their hardware expertise, cementing Japan's technological edge (7m28s).
• Telexistence built customized hardware for their robots, which cannot be bought off the market, and combined AI machine learning with remote control, differentiating their technology (7m41s).

The Expanding Role of Robots in Japanese Industries

• Robots in Japan represent a possible future of work in all sectors of the economy, not just a solution to socioeconomic issues, and are being deployed in various industries, including retail and agriculture (8m8s).
• Robots are being used in agriculture, such as in farming, where they can collect data and improve crop quality, and are equipped with technologies like GNSS to enhance their functionality (8m51s).
• Japan's farming industry is facing challenges due to an aging population and a decline in the number of farms, with fewer people taking over the business, highlighting the need to advance autonomous driving and preserve the knowledge and experience of farmers by turning it into data (9m58s).
• The future of farming is expected to involve remote management of operations from home, increased production, and improved quality through the incorporation of more data, which can also help balance supply and demand and reduce food waste (10m43s).

Kubota's Smart Agricultural Technology

• Kubota's smart systems aim to reduce the risks associated with uncertain weather, yields, or crop prices in the agriculture industry (11m12s).
• The company's technology can be adapted to meet the various requirements of different farms, including those of different sizes, crops, and seasons, by streamlining farming data and planning (11m16s).
• Kubota's compact and precise machines are designed to meet the needs of Japan's small farms, and the company is researching ways to use robots to perform tasks typically done by experienced farmers (12m17s).
• The use of robots in farming can lead to uniformly consistent crops, reduced food waste, and improved profitability for farms (12m46s).
• Kubota's research institute in Japan is developing systems for autonomous driving, which could revolutionize farming, and the company's technology allows for the control of multiple small tractors at once (12m54s).
• The use of GPS and cameras enables precision farming, allowing for farming within 2-3 centimeters, and can help farmers analyze and review their operations to improve yields and quality (13m32s).
• The collection of data and utilization of AI tools can help farmers increase quality and volume, regardless of location or climate, and can also enable the growth of better crops (13m54s).
• The use of GPS can provide data on crop quality and quantity in any location, enabling farmers to make more informed decisions (14m9s).
• The goal of efficient and profitable farming is to lower costs while producing high-quality products and selling them at a high price (14m28s).

The Future of Farming: Automation and Data-Driven Agriculture

• The future of farming may involve machines working autonomously in fields for 24 hours a day, allowing farmers to focus on other tasks or take time off, and this transformation is driven by the need to address the aging population of farmers and labor shortages in Japan (14m49s).
• The global agriculture robots market is expected to grow significantly, from $6 billion in 2021 to $94 billion by 2030, as the world needs to increase food production by 70% by 2050 to meet demand (15m43s).

Komatsu's Robotic Innovations in Construction

• Japan's construction industry is also facing labor shortages, with the number of workers decreasing from 6.9 million in 1997 to 4.8 million in 2023, and companies like Komatsu are turning to robotics to fill the gaps (17m35s).
• Komatsu is innovating in the construction industry by introducing robots and automated processes, which can customize the building process for each site and eliminate physically demanding jobs (16m55s).
• The company uses a hybrid method where machines and humans work side by side, and it is also exploring the use of virtual reality to optimize construction sites and improve efficiency (17m14s).
• Komatsu's vision is to realize fully autonomous construction machines, but this goal is still years away, and the company is forming partnerships with other technology companies to achieve it (18m42s).

Transforming Construction with Smart Technology and Remote Operation

• The use of robots and smart systems in construction can help solve social issues, such as labor shortages, and improve disaster recovery and reconstruction efforts (18m8s).
• In the future, the construction industry may be populated by machines, robots, and drones, but humans will still play an active role, and technologies like remote operation of machinery will allow people to work from home (19m11s).
• The construction industry is being revolutionized by smart tools and robots, allowing for remote operation of machines and data analysis, which can be done from an office, eliminating the need to physically visit the site (20m3s).
• Drones are being used to take photos of construction sites, and the data collected is processed by Komatsu's app and analyzed by human staff, providing 3D data in a short amount of time (20m21s).
• The data collected by drones includes location information, color, and height, which is then used to create 3D data through Komatsu's Smart Construction Edge (20m53s).
• This technology allows for cost savings and minimization of errors, but also requires a skilled and talented workforce (21m22s).
• However, the technology is considered easy to use, even for those without a construction background, as demonstrated by Mr. Shike, who studied marketing in university (21m43s).

The Vision of Human-Robot Coexistence in Japan

• The use of robots in Japan is seen as a way to free people from hard labor and menial tasks, rather than replacing human jobs (22m21s).
• While there is skepticism about the impact of technology, Japan's scientists are driven by technological optimism to pioneer the robotics revolution and create a world where humans and robots can coexist (22m52s).