Would you work with a joke-cracking robot? Japan tries to catch up with China’s humanoids

Japan is stepping up efforts to compete in the humanoid robotics race, focusing on software and data.

At the Humanoid Robot Expo in Tokyo, Japan’s first humanoid-focused event, a human-sized machine is picking up a bottle of tea from shelves and turning to its audience with a quip.

“In the future, would we robots get a holiday? … Oh well. I don’t want to get sunburn,” said the humanoid robot called Galbot.

Like Galbot, most of the humanoid robots on display were developed by Chinese companies, reflecting the country’s growing dominance in robotics manufacturing.

Robotics is becoming part of a wider technological rivalry between China and the United States, with growing national security implications.

Beijing’s latest five-year plan includes accelerating the development of technologies such as humanoid robots as a priority.

But the event also shows how Japanese firms are trying to carve out a different role in the industry – “physical AI,” data infrastructure and software for robots to function and act in real-world environments.

“When we think of AI, we often think of something like ChatGPT,” said Nao Yamada, the manager at FastLabel, a Tokyo-based AI data infrastructure company.

“But with physical AI, it takes information through sensors and enables machines like robots to operate in the real world.”

FastLabel says it works with China’s robotics firm RealMan to support the development of training data used to build robot AI models.

“We focus on the core part of robot AI,” Yamada said. “Rather than building the models themselves, we support how to create the data needed to build those models in a way that is high-quality and scalable.”

Industry insiders say that while robots can already walk and dance, more complex tasks, such as gripping objects, remain a major hurdle.

“With dancing, for example, you’re just having the robot repeat the same movements,” said Masato Ando, sales division manager at Aska Corporation, which partners with China’s Dobot.

“For fixed, predefined movements, that kind of training is possible. But movements at a higher level are not fixed or pre-defined and the robot has to make its own judgments about what to do because there are many different possible patterns.”

He added that mastering such tasks will determine whether humanoid robots can move into practical roles.

“Humanoid robots are currently intended for manufacturing industries facing labour shortages,” Ando said.

“The key point will be how much they can evolve into robots that are actually usable in this field,” he added.

Japan has one of the world's most advanced ageing populations and is facing labour shortages. A key question is if humanoid robots will be able to support people at home.

Still, public acceptance is a challenge.

“I think there are high expectations, but at the same time some people may feel uneasy,” said Atomu Shimoda, event director at RX Japan and organiser of NexTech Week.

He added that the goal is not to replace humans but to work alongside them.

“We see humanoid robots not as replacements for humans, something that can coexist and collaborate with people,” Shimoda said. “We hope they will come to be seen as partners.”

Video editor • Roselyne Min