Japan is a step closer to having an ideal worker who won't complain in torrential rain or on slippery floors as a company unveiled a next-generation humanoid on May 20.
Kawada Industries' HRP-3 Promet Mk-II, a 160-centimetre-tall humanoid, walked on a slippery floor scattered with sand and held out its arms under a shower before media cameras.
"We have made a leap towards creating a humanoid that works in a real environment," the firm said in a joint statement with Kawasaki Heavy Industries and the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology.
Photo: AFP
The visor-wearing white robot, also used a screwdriver with its right hand while leaning on its left arm, balancing itself like a human would.
The robot weighs 68 kilograms including the battery.
"Our country is rapidly ageing and it is an urgent task to develop robots that can perform tasks only done by humans now," the statement said.
"If a humanoid can substitute human functions, the entire social cost would be reduced," it said.
Kawada Industries said the company hoped eventually to put the HRP-3 Promet Mk-II to commercial use.
Project manager Takakatsu Isozumi said the company wanted to target clients such as construction contractors by 2010, with each robot costing around 150 million yen (NT$40 million) each.
"We want to increase the actions that this robot can do at construction sites, such as driving construction vehicles," he said.
Japan leads the world's robotic industries in fields ranging from manufacturing to entertainment and security. Last week, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries said it would start renting out humanoids to staff front desks at offices and hospitals.
日本即將出現不會抱怨在傾盆大雨中或踩在滑地板工作的理想員工。一家企業在五月二十日推出了一款新一代的機器人。
川田工業株式會社的「HRP-3 Promet Mk-II」機器人高一百六十公分，可以行走在灑滿沙子的滑地板，並在淋浴時伸出手臂，媒體攝影機全都捕捉了下來。
川田工業與川崎重工和日本產業技術綜合研究所聯合發表的聲明中提到︰「要創造在真實環境下工作的機器人，我們已邁進了一大步。」
頭戴面甲的白色機器人也會用右手拿螺絲起子，左手同時前傾，就像人類一樣保持身體平衡。
聲明中說︰「日本急速高齡化，當務之急就是發展出能夠做現今僅人類能做的事之機器人。」
聲明中也提到︰「假如機器人可以取代人類功能，整體的社會成本就會減少。」
川田工業表示，他們希望最終能將「HRP-3 Promet Mk-II」運用於商業用途。
專案經理五十棲隆活說，川田工業希望能在二○一○年前鎖定建築包商等客戶，每個機器人售價約一億五千萬日圓（新台幣四千萬元）。
他說︰「我們想增加這個機器人在工地能從事的活動，如駕駛工程車。」
日本機器人工業獨步全球，在製造、娛樂與保安領域都是首屈一指。日本三菱重工業公司上週宣布，將開始出租機器人給辦公室及醫院擔任櫃檯工作。
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