Japan Gears Up to Become a Full-On Robot Nation - io9 Comments

Japan Gears Up to Become a Full-On Robot Nation

ldsdj — Mon, 19 May 2008 22:45:17 PDT

Yeah, it's funny how religious "theories" that have been fairly constant for thousands of years are so inferior to scientific THEORIES that have changed on an almost daily basis for thousands of years. What dummies! Don't they know you're only cool if you jump on the most recently touted scientific bandwagon?!? Religious theories are just mythology, but scientific theories are TRUE!

ldsdj

Japan Gears Up to Become a Full-On Robot Nation

Klebert L. Hall — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 09:58:41 PDT

@FunkyJ:

That site is... misleading. For one thing, the data are several years old. For another, the UK is down to 25 frigates - I don't know what the heck the site is counting as 'naval vessels', but the US certainly doesn't have 2,000 combatant vessels, either. More like 300.

-Kle.

Klebert L. Hall

Japan Gears Up to Become a Full-On Robot Nation

broomstick — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 09:50:51 PDT

@Metropolis: "Mass Produced Gundams"

Now that is cool. I want one of those!

broomstick

Japan Gears Up to Become a Full-On Robot Nation

FunkyJ — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 22:41:34 PDT

@Brock:

Second only to the USA in Military Strength?

Russia, China, India, Germany and France would probably have something to say about that.

[www.globalfirepower.com]

And when you put the UK right next to Japan, the they're pretty much on a par - it's just that Japan has more artillery and more people, whereas the UK has more tanks and more infantry support. Most other things are even, give or take a few tens of thousands...

[www.globalfirepower.com]

FunkyJ

Japan Gears Up to Become a Full-On Robot Nation

Klebert L. Hall — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 17:15:57 PDT

@LISA KATAYAMA:

Weird, I wonder why not? They develop all kinds of other military technologies.
-Kle.

Klebert L. Hall

Japan Gears Up to Become a Full-On Robot Nation

TravisWinecor — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 16:48:47 PDT

Comment on Japan Gears Up to Become a Full-On Robot Nation Let in more immigrants. Problem solved. Any country that refuses to do this deserves to die.

TravisWinecor

Japan Gears Up to Become a Full-On Robot Nation

sofong — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 10:57:18 PDT

No worries if the price/performance ratio of Aibo is maintained.

The Japanese population is aging quickly as their birthrates are low. They really do need helpers for all the nursing home work to come.

sofong

Japan Gears Up to Become a Full-On Robot Nation

jesustonight — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 00:44:20 PDT

Japanese robots?id be far more concern about the ladder to heaven there building ,something to do with saddam hussien?

jesustonight

Japan Gears Up to Become a Full-On Robot Nation

RosalindStoat — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 00:41:11 PDT

Comment on Japan Gears Up to Become a Full-On Robot Nation Japan has a problem with the amount of older citizens and not enough young people for a tax base or even just warm bodies to fill the roles required to support them. Robots fit the bill as home help, if you had people they would require somewhere to live, eat and play... Some of the things Japan also doesnt have is space or food to feed outside workers. To a technologist society brought up on Astro boy what else would they have. -- If you have to ask, you're not allowed to know.

RosalindStoat

Japan Gears Up to Become a Full-On Robot Nation

stefan_jones — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 20:30:45 PDT

HOMEWORK:

Go read Mockingbird by Walter Tevis.

stefan_jones

Japan Gears Up to Become a Full-On Robot Nation

saketini99 — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 17:35:07 PDT

"Perhaps the most important reason why Japan is fit to become the first country in the world with an official robot ministry is because the Japanese aren't afraid of robots."

no, probably the most important reason is that the Japanese fear foreigners more than they fear robots. They'd rather employ a robot nanny than a Phillipina one.

saketini99

Japan Gears Up to Become a Full-On Robot Nation

Emmanuel Goldstein — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 15:57:01 PDT

I, for one, welcome our new robot overlords.

Emmanuel Goldstein

Japan Gears Up to Become a Full-On Robot Nation

aosagi — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 15:12:19 PDT

I would not be surprised if Japan began using robots for military purposes. The JSDF have had trouble meeting recruitment goals for precisely these same reasons. With Japan's increasing security presence on the world stage, it's only a matter of time before we have war robots.

aosagi

Japan Gears Up to Become a Full-On Robot Nation

Cheap Shot — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 12:41:05 PDT

I was at Wiredfest last year and got to see some of those. They were all from Japan. Japan hasn't forgotten Hiroshima so bring on the robot war of 2015!

Cheap Shot

Japan Gears Up to Become a Full-On Robot Nation

FrankenPC — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 12:32:26 PDT

Japan is in a really sorry position. They don't have a large Latin country on their doorstep.

{Ducks!}

FrankenPC

Japan Gears Up to Become a Full-On Robot Nation

blackadvent — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 12:14:10 PDT

Domo Arigato, Mr. Roboto....

blackadvent

Japan Gears Up to Become a Full-On Robot Nation

mikecoscia — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 11:28:00 PDT

Japan is going to be th birth place robots Zero One city.

mikecoscia

Japan Gears Up to Become a Full-On Robot Nation

codydog — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 10:53:33 PDT

Robots to replace the Eta and Koreans they can't oppress any more?.. Hmmmm. Progress, i suppose. And i have always suspected the "Transformers" were some sort of wish fulfillment fantasy.

Am i not so bedazzled by the Japanese as permanent pacifists?

Well, i have heard of the 47 Ronin, and know that myths define a culture's personality. And the 47 Ronin is history, not a myth.

I read that American robotics guys think that the Japanese are wasting a lot of energy chasing the humanoid dream, when wheels work so good, and Dean Kaman has a Segway that can climb stairs.

Time will tell.

codydog

Japan Gears Up to Become a Full-On Robot Nation

braak — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 10:26:43 PDT

@pandorasmittens: Never happen. Humans are a lousy energy source. They'd probably just kill us.

braak

Japan Gears Up to Become a Full-On Robot Nation

Metropolis — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 10:16:26 PDT

If this intergration of robitics comesto fruition I'm moving to Japan. And to all those discussing the Japanese military it won't matter in the future because they are going to have a robitic army and mass produced Gundams that will take out anything.

Metropolis

Japan Gears Up to Become a Full-On Robot Nation

BlindKarma — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 10:09:11 PDT

I've seen Rojin Z...
It's only a matter of time before we're under assault from Geriatric-Cyborg-Nursing-Machine-bots

BlindKarma

Japan Gears Up to Become a Full-On Robot Nation

LISA KATAYAMA — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 10:08:20 PDT

@Klebert L. Hall: I think what he meant is that Japan can't openly develop robotics technology for military use.

LISA KATAYAMA

Japan Gears Up to Become a Full-On Robot Nation

pandorasmittens — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 10:05:45 PDT

@pandorasmittens: Although, if said robots/androids were a little more Data and a little less Sentinel, I could totally get into that.

pandorasmittens

Japan Gears Up to Become a Full-On Robot Nation

CmdrHunt — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 10:05:01 PDT

@moncapitaine: I'm right with you.

CmdrHunt

Japan Gears Up to Become a Full-On Robot Nation

pandorasmittens — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 10:04:11 PDT

I can only hope I never live to see when the robots overthrow their human overloards and use them as an energy source, a' la The Matrix .

pandorasmittens

Japan Gears Up to Become a Full-On Robot Nation

Shiryu — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 09:58:21 PDT

If anyone on Earth can, they are definetly running on top of the scoreboard.

Shiryu

Japan Gears Up to Become a Full-On Robot Nation

DSTRYA — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 09:45:49 PDT

soo... Japan wants to destroy all humans, is that it? have they failed to watch ANY of the science-fiction anime that has been bred in their own great nation? ROBOTS = PILES AND PILES OF DEAD HUMANS. I guess a culture who valorizes suicide as a responsible decision just doesn't care much about the oncoming robot apocalypse if it means more exports. thanks alot, you greedy bastards.

DSTRYA

Japan Gears Up to Become a Full-On Robot Nation

eris404 — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 09:41:12 PDT

God I love robots. I wanted an Aibo desperately, but they were way out of my price range when they were still being manufactured. Had to settle for a LEGO Mindstorms kit. And, uh, I did name my computer. :|

I do wish they would quit it with the creepy "life-like" androids though.

eris404

Japan Gears Up to Become a Full-On Robot Nation

deckard97 — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 09:40:15 PDT

Terminator kicks ass and I'm all for robots. More seriously, I like the idea that once I become old and feeble there will be a means for me to some retain self-sufficiency, assuming of course my brain doesn't turn to Jell-O. However I think, even thought it may be at true the Japanese are ahead of the curve, Takayuki Furuta is exaggerating, probably by more than a little. For instance, define robot, and vending machine does not count.

deckard97

Japan Gears Up to Become a Full-On Robot Nation

Brock — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 09:34:16 PDT

It's more than a bit disingenuous to say that Japan doesn't have a military. Their "Self Defense Forces" have aircraft carriers, battlegroups and nuclear submarines. The Japanese Navy and Airforce are larger than the United Kingdom's and far more capable than China's or Russia's; they are second in the world solely to the USA. The Japanese don't advertise this fact much, but it's true.

************

I'm very surprised and impressed by how much progress they are making.

What's interesting to me is that the Japanese make so many _humanoid_ robots. The USA has plenty of civilian robots, but they're functional and non-humanoid (think Roomba, that croissant sorter that was posted a few days ago, or the robot that made your car). When we get self-driving cars, those cars will be robots for all intents and purposes, but 5 gets you 10 that they will look just like today's cars - no robotic chauffeur in the driver's seat for Americans.

Brock

Japan Gears Up to Become a Full-On Robot Nation

Klebert L. Hall — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 09:33:53 PDT

I have to hand it to the Japanese for putting this kind of huge effort into something that there's really very little practical need for. All in the sake of style, and the fact that lots of Japanese folks think it's cool. Bravo.

Quibble: "But Japan doesn't have a military" is a load of bullshit. You can call a spoon a lunar rover all day and night, but that doesn't make it anything but a spoon.

-Kle.

Klebert L. Hall

Japan Gears Up to Become a Full-On Robot Nation

braak — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 09:33:14 PDT

@Mrreader: Man, you don't need evolution to know that robots are awesome!

braak

Japan Gears Up to Become a Full-On Robot Nation

Mrreader — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 09:30:23 PDT

@braak: Maybe it helped that their country isn't pushed around by religious fundamentalists trying to actively suppress or discredit evolutionary theory.

Mrreader

Japan Gears Up to Become a Full-On Robot Nation

Miranda Kali — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 09:19:01 PDT

@braak:
They took the #37 overpass, detoured at Mullholand clover 96, and went straight on till morning.

Miranda Kali

Japan Gears Up to Become a Full-On Robot Nation

braak — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 09:13:56 PDT

Those wacky Japanese.

How did they get to the future before us?

braak

Japan Gears Up to Become a Full-On Robot Nation

Miranda Kali — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 09:13:02 PDT

The day I own a Furbie is the day that Furbies are six feet tall, have a built-in flamethrower, can deal with religious nuts knocking on the door, and make me one hell of a Martini.

Miranda Kali

Japan Gears Up to Become a Full-On Robot Nation

moncapitaine — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 09:11:37 PDT

But the U.S. already has a robot workforce. I mean, do you think I would be in this cubicle if I wasn't an artificial automaton?

moncapitaine