Robotics

On a brisk day in mid-November, about 50 volunteers gathered to clean a beach on the southern island of Kyushu. It was roughly 60 km from Okinoshima island, a World Heritage site in the Genkainada Sea that is worshipped as a divine island.

Robot-maker ZMP Inc. is aiming to launch the first commercial level 3 automated bus operation in Japan at an airport in 2020.

More and more unmanned cleaning robots are being used in Japan, mainly at public transportation facilities, amid severe labor shortages.

A big opportunity is presenting itself as major patents owned by a maker of surgical robots have begun to expire -- and companies in Japan and elsewhere are already pouncing on it.

Japanese electronics retailer Bic Camera will make robotic power suits standard for logistics center workers as part of efforts to draw elderly hires and address a labor shortage.

In the not-so-distant future, more robots may be interacting with customers at shopping complexes, serving food at restaurants or cleaning floors at offices in Japan amid a serious labor crunch.

Omron is developing an AI-driven table tennis robot that can smash the ball or send back a slow, arching forehand, according to the player's level.

East Japan Railway Co. said Tuesday a robotic guide utilizing artificial intelligence and an unstaffed convenience store will feature at a new station slated to open in Tokyo in April 2020.

Soon the Japanese capital's trendsetting Shibuya district will boast a cafe staffed by humanoid robots that can recommend perfect desserts for customers.

Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy Industries has enhanced automation in the manufacturing of the country's next-generation rocket, looking to slash production costs by half and boost global competitiveness.